Hawaii County, Hawaii: hazard history
What federal records show has already happened here: disaster declarations, storms, and flood insurance claims. This is a record of the past. It is not a forecast and not a hazard score.
At a glance
What this means
- The event NOAA recorded most often here is Heavy Rain, with 653 records.
- The costliest single record is Flash Flood in 2000: $70.0M in property damage, in the dollars of that year.
- The deadliest record is High Surf in 2004, with 1 death.
- FEMA has declared 33 disasters that named this county, most often for fire.
- The worst year for flood insurance claims was 2011, with 104 claims.
What this can't tell you
- What happens next. Past events do not set the odds of the next one.
- Anything before 1996 from NOAA. That is when NOAA began recording every event type; earlier files hold only tornado, hail and wind, so they are left out on purpose.
- Today's cost. Damage and payments are in the dollars of the year they happened.
- A flood rate. NFIP counts claims but not how many homes were insured, and many flooded homes carry no flood insurance.
- Earthquakes, wildfire perimeters or radar-detected hail. Those records are not tied to counties.
Federal disaster declarations (FEMA)
FEMA declared 33 disasters that named Hawaii County between 1973 and 2026.
| Incident type | Disasters | Most recent |
|---|---|---|
| Fire | 12 | 2026 |
| Hurricane | 5 | 2020 |
| Earthquake | 4 | 2026 |
| Severe Storm | 3 | 2014 |
| Volcanic Eruption | 3 | 2018 |
| Biological | 2 | 2020 |
| Flood | 2 | 2026 |
| Tropical Storm | 1 | 2026 |
| Tsunami | 1 | 2011 |
Most recent declarations
- EM-3652 2026 · Tropical Storm · Hurricane Lala
- FM-5650 2026 · Fire · Kawaihae Road Fire
- DR-4936 2026 · Earthquake · Earthquake
- DR-4909 2026 · Flood · Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides
- FM-5478 2023 · Fire · Mauna Kea Beach Fire
- FM-5474 2023 · Fire · Kohala Ranch Fire
- DR-4724 2023 · Fire · Wildfires And High Winds
- FM-5404 2021 · Fire · Mana Road Fire
- EM-3529 2020 · Hurricane · Hurricane Douglas
- DR-4510 2020 · Biological · Covid-19 Pandemic
Not counted above: 10 statewide declarations, which covered every county in Hawaii. A declaration is a decision to send federal help, not a measure of how bad an event was. Records run from 1953. Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
Storms recorded by NOAA, by type
| Event type | Records | Deaths | Injuries | Property damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Rain | 653 | 1 | 0 | $40K |
| High Surf | 408 | 4 | 0 | $0 |
| Drought | 376 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Flash Flood | 137 | 5 | 3 | $90.2M |
| High Wind | 123 | 0 | 1 | $200K |
| Flood | 89 | 0 | 0 | $5.0M |
| Wildfire | 79 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Winter Weather | 21 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Winter Storm | 16 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Volcanic Ashfall | 13 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Strong Wind | 12 | 0 | 4 | $77K |
| Hail | 11 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Funnel Cloud | 10 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Lightning | 10 | 0 | 1 | $28K |
| Waterspout | 7 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Blizzard | 6 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 6 | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Tropical Storm | 5 | 0 | 0 | $10K |
| Debris Flow | 4 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Heavy Snow | 3 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Tsunami | 2 | 0 | 0 | $14.2M |
| Tornado | 1 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Records start in 1996. Damage is NOAA's estimate at the time, in nominal dollars, and is often rounded; it is not insurance claims data. A storm that crossed two NOAA zones in this county is recorded, and counted, once per zone. A storm filed against a forecast zone is counted in every county that zone covers, with the whole storm's damage; do not add these figures across counties.
Year by year
NOAA storm event records in Hawaii County each year. The busiest year was 2021, with 146 records.
Show the numbers for every year
| Year | Records | Deaths | Property damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 19 | 0 | $1.1M |
| 1997 | 40 | 0 | $0 |
| 1998 | 8 | 0 | $0 |
| 1999 | 33 | 0 | $0 |
| 2000 | 11 | 0 | $70.0M |
| 2001 | 23 | 0 | $30K |
| 2002 | 30 | 0 | $0 |
| 2003 | 16 | 0 | $0 |
| 2004 | 62 | 1 | $550K |
| 2005 | 70 | 0 | $0 |
| 2006 | 59 | 0 | $0 |
| 2007 | 57 | 0 | $0 |
| 2008 | 54 | 0 | $0 |
| 2009 | 61 | 0 | $0 |
| 2010 | 66 | 0 | $0 |
| 2011 | 92 | 1 | $14.2M |
| 2012 | 64 | 1 | $0 |
| 2013 | 139 | 0 | $65K |
| 2014 | 109 | 0 | $0 |
| 2015 | 87 | 2 | $20K |
| 2016 | 103 | 0 | $1K |
| 2017 | 96 | 1 | $15K |
| 2018 | 121 | 3 | $7.1M |
| 2019 | 82 | 1 | $5K |
| 2020 | 59 | 0 | $2K |
| 2021 | 146 | 0 | $0 |
| 2022 | 130 | 0 | $0 |
| 2023 | 73 | 0 | $2K |
| 2024 | 44 | 0 | $9.1M |
| 2025 | 26 | 1 | $20K |
| 2026 | 12 | 0 | $7.5M |
Years with no record are left out of the table, not shown as zero.
Notable events
Costliest records
- Flash Flood · Nov 1, 2000$70.0MNOAA name: Hawaii County · NOAA record 5161568
- Tsunami · Mar 11, 2011$14.2MNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 282798
- Flash Flood · Aug 22, 2018$7.1MNOAA name: Hawaii County · NOAA record 773819
- Flood · Aug 25, 2024$5.0MNOAA name: Hawaii County · NOAA record 1206238
- Flash Flood · Mar 14, 2026$5.0MNOAA name: Hawaii County · NOAA record 1317850
Deadliest records
- High Surf · Dec 20, 20041 deathNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 5431548
- Flash Flood · Jul 10, 20111 deathNOAA name: Hawaii County · 1 injury · NOAA record 327281
- Flash Flood · Dec 19, 20121 deathNOAA name: Hawaii County · NOAA record 436975
- High Surf · Jun 1, 20151 deathNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 578412
- Flash Flood · Sep 14, 20151 deathNOAA name: Hawaii County · NOAA record 612580
Each line is one NOAA record, linked to its page at NOAA. One large storm can appear more than once if NOAA recorded it in several zones of this county. Dollars are nominal.
Flood insurance claims (NFIP)
The National Flood Insurance Program paid $22.1M on 776 claims in Hawaii County from 1978 to 2024.
| Year | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 104 | $10.5M |
| 1980 | 79 | $748K |
| 2000 | 72 | $1.8M |
| 1986 | 71 | $1.3M |
| 1992 | 50 | $923K |
A count of claims, not a rate: NFIP publishes no count of insured homes beside it, and most flood damage is uninsured. Nominal dollars. Records run from 1978 to 2024; claims filed without a county code are not on any county page. Source: FEMA OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims.
Hazard vulnerability analysis: the probability column for a facility in Hawaii County
A hazard vulnerability analysis rates each hazard for probability, impact, preparedness and response. Probability is the one column the county’s federal record can fill — NCEI storm events from 1996 to 2026 and FEMA declarations naming the county — and this is what it says for a facility here, on the 0–3 scale of the all-hazards structure surveyors expect. The other six columns are the facility’s own judgment about its building, and Calchis leaves them blank.
| Hazard | Prob. | Basis, from the county record |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane / Tropical Storm | 3 | 5 NCEI events over 31 years (0.16/yr). 6 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Severe Thunderstorm | 3 | 27 NCEI events over 31 years (0.87/yr). 3 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Flood, External | 3 | 879 NCEI events over 31 years (28.35/yr). 2 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Snow Fall / Blizzard / Ice Storm | 3 | 46 NCEI events over 31 years (1.48/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Drought | 3 | 376 NCEI events over 31 years (12.13/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Wild Fire | 3 | 79 NCEI events over 31 years (2.55/yr). 12 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| High Wind (non-convective) | 3 | 135 NCEI events over 31 years (4.35/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Earthquake | 3 | 4 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Volcano | 3 | 13 NCEI events over 31 years (0.42/yr). 3 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Landslide | 2 | 4 NCEI events over 31 years (0.13/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Tidal Wave / Tsunami | 2 | 2 NCEI events over 31 years (0.06/yr). 1 federal disaster declaration naming the county. |
| Epidemic | 2 | 2 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Tornado | 1 | 1 NCEI event over 31 years (0.03/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Temperature Extremes | 1 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Dam Inundation | 1 | No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
A dash means the record does not speak to that hazard; it is not a zero. Whether a finished document satisfies the CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule is the facility’s finding and its surveyor’s. Complete the HVA for a facility in Hawaii County — the technological, human and hazardous-materials rows, the six facility columns, the approval and the printed document — or read the sample analysis on that page first.
How this page was made
- Every figure is counted from public federal records held by Calchis: NOAA NCEI Storm Events, FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, and FEMA NFIP claims. Nothing is modeled or estimated.
- NOAA files some events against a county and others against an NWS forecast zone, and publishes a code for both. Records are counted as Hawaii County by that code — county records by the county's own FIPS code, zone records through the National Weather Service's published list of which counties each zone covers. No name matching is involved. Of 1,992 records, 953 were filed against this county and 1,039 against a forecast zone covering it. A zone storm is counted in every county its zone covers, and its damage figure is the whole storm's, not this county's share — NOAA does not publish that split. So these figures describe this county; they must not be added up across counties. Left out: 36% of Hawaii's NOAA records, which are marine zones or zones NWS does not map to a county.
- Counts last rebuilt from the source records on Sep 15, 2026.
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Recorded history from federal public records. Not a hazard score, a risk score, or a forecast, and not a substitute for professional actuarial or emergency-management assessment. Decision-support intelligence — not a primary alerting or dispatch system. Verify against official sources.