Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26) Adopted by Rule 69O-170.0155, F.A.C. Page 1 Section 2 — Region (New on the Rev. 04/26 Form)
Section 2 — Region (New on the Rev. 04/26 Form)
Section 2 is one of the additions introduced with the 2026 revision of the form. It was not present on the previous version. This section identifies the wind design region in which your home is located, based on the design wind speed established for your area under the ASCE 7-22 standard — a nationally recognized engineering reference for wind loading on structures.
The region is determined by the inspector using the ASCE Hazard Tool at ascehazardtool.org, which generates a site-specific design wind speed based on the property’s geographic coordinates. The homeowner does not need to look this up — it is part of the inspector’s process.
There are four possible designations:
HVHZ — The High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. This applies only to Miami-Dade and Broward counties on Florida’s southeast coast. These two counties have their own separate building code history and are subject to the most stringent wind construction requirements in the state. If your home is in Southwest Florida — Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples, or anywhere in Lee or Collier County — this does not apply to you.
Region 1 (140 mph or greater) — This is the designation that applies to the vast majority of homes in Southwest Florida. The coastline and barrier islands of Lee and Collier counties fall squarely in Region 1, as do most inland areas of the SWFL market. Living in a high wind speed region sounds alarming, but it is simply a reflection of geographic reality — Southwest Florida sits in one of the most hurricane-exposed parts of the continental United States, and the building codes and inspection standards reflect that.
Region 2 (130 to 139 mph) — A transitional zone that applies to areas with slightly lower design wind speeds. Depending on how the ASCE tool calculates the specific coordinates of a property, some locations further inland in Florida may fall into this range, though it is less common in the immediate SWFL coastal market.
Region 3 (less than 130 mph) — The lowest wind speed designation on the form. This would apply to properties located further from the coast or in areas of the state that are less exposed to direct hurricane impacts.
Why Does This Matter?
The wind region designation feeds into how insurance companies model risk and apply rate factors to a policy. It is also a factor in what discounts may or may not be available depending on the specific features documented in the sections that follow. For Southwest Florida homeowners, Region 1 is the expected answer, and it is not a negative — it simply confirms what any longtime resident already knows about where they live.
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