South Houston, TX: what USGS's seismic model says

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, South Houston is Category A. Lowest seismic design category. Building code requires no seismic-specific detailing here beyond ordinary construction practice. Nationally, South Houston ranks above 12% of the 4,875 cities in this dataset for seismic hazard - the 12th percentile.

How South Houston compares

USGS's underlying values for South Houston: 0.033g peak ground acceleration, 0.067g at short period, 0.039g at 1 second. Within Texas alone, South Houston ranks 224 of 384 cities by seismic hazard - the 42th percentile in-state. South Houston has a population of about 16,146.

What a retrofit costs in South Houston

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 Texas 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 Texas.

What this means for insurance

A South Houston 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 South Houston's figures come from

South Houston'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 South Houston.