Earthquake, tornado, and severe-convective-storm exposure

Earthquake exposure concentrates on known fault systems, chiefly the West Coast, the intermountain West, and the New Madrid zone in the central U.S. Tornado and severe-convective-storm exposure concentrates in the Plains and the Southeast. Each is location-specific, and a Very High FEMA rating in any of them can carry a property to the top of Plattow's scale.

Earthquake

Seismic risk follows faults, not population. The highest ratings sit in California, the Pacific Northwest, parts of the intermountain West, and the New Madrid seismic zone around the Missouri, Tennessee, and Arkansas borders. Much of the eastern and central U.S. carries low seismic risk. Earthquake coverage is typically a separate policy, which makes the rating a useful flag.

Tornado

Tornado risk concentrates in the southern Plains and the Southeast, with a spring and early-summer season. FEMA rates tornado exposure per location; a Very High rating reflects genuine frequency and intensity, not value at stake.

Severe convective storm (hail and high wind)

Hail and damaging straight-line wind are frequent across the Plains and Midwest. Plattow treats these as diffuse perils: real and costly to insurers, but capped at Elevated in the headline because they rarely make a single property uninsurable or unbuildable.

How to check a property

Plattow returns the FEMA earthquake, tornado, hail, and wind ratings for any address. See how Plattow scores risk for how each peril maps to the headline.

Related: the master assessment guide, methodology. Look up any address on the Safe Havens map or call the data at /api/report.