Miami Lakes, FL: what USGS's seismic model says

USGS's ASCE 7-16 seismic design model - the same standard building codes use - places Miami Lakes in Seismic Design Category A: Lowest seismic design category. Building code requires no seismic-specific detailing here beyond ordinary construction practice. Rank it against the rest of the country and Miami Lakes sits at the 2th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

Where Miami Lakes sits in Florida

USGS's underlying values for Miami Lakes: 0.02g peak ground acceleration, 0.042g at short period, 0.021g at 1 second. Within Florida alone, Miami Lakes ranks 191 of 228 cities by seismic hazard - the 16th percentile in-state. Miami Lakes has a population of about 33,247.

What a retrofit costs in Miami Lakes

A full earthquake retrofit typically runs $5,000-$10,000 nationally (around $7,000 typical), driven mainly by house size and foundation type, not by Florida specifically. California's Earthquake Brace + Bolt grant, which covers a large share of this cost, is a California-only program and does not apply in Florida.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A Miami Lakes homeowner cannot buy a standalone earthquake policy in most cases - it is added to an existing homeowners policy as an endorsement, so the place to start is a regular home-insurance quote.

Where Miami Lakes's figures come from

Miami Lakes's Category A and every number above trace to USGS's own ASCE 7-16 Design Maps service - see the methodology guide. See the category explainer for what Category A does and doesn't tell you about Miami Lakes.