Does St. John, IN need an earthquake retrofit?

Under the seismic model IBC and ASCE 7 use for new construction, St. John is Category B. Low seismic hazard. Code requires basic seismic detailing (bracing, connections) but no special structural system restrictions. Rank it against the rest of the country and St. John sits at the 36th percentile for seismic hazard among 4,875 US cities.

St. John by the numbers

USGS's underlying values for St. John: 0.059g peak ground acceleration, 0.12g at short period, 0.068g at 1 second. Within Indiana alone, St. John ranks 90 of 126 cities by seismic hazard - the 29th percentile in-state. St. John has a population of about 24,250.

What a retrofit costs in St. John

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 Indiana 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 Indiana.

Insuring against this, not just retrofitting

A St. John 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 St. John's figures come from

St. John's Category B 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 B does and doesn't tell you about St. John.