800 flood insurance claims·$23.4M paid·3 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Hawaii County, Hawaii. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from heavy rainfall events dominates the flood profile of Hawaii County. According to NOAA Storm Events Database records from the last 30 years, the county experienced 132 flash flood events resulting in 5 deaths, alongside 88 standard flood events and 5 tropical storm events.
Recent impacts are illustrated by Hurricane Hone in August 2024. Tracking south of the Big Island, the storm's outer rain bands brought widespread flooding to portions of the island, while tropical storm-force winds caused widespread power outages and damaged utility poles after thousands of customers lost power.
NFIP claims data demonstrates that flood risk extends across multiple zones. Zone V leads with 297 claims, averaging a payout of $41,759 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Zone A follows with 274 claims, averaging $53,519 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Zone X accounts for 123 claims with an average payout of $42,774 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Properties in Zone UNKNOWN recorded 62 claims averaging a $9,902 payout with an average water depth of 3 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 28 claims averaging a $28,116 payout with an average water depth of 5 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties in coastal and high-risk zones V and A should pay the closest attention to these risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Hawaii County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
601 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 8 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2011, with 104 claims and $10.5M paid.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
34 NOAA storm reports from Hawaii County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Hawaii flood stories →
29 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Kohala Ranch Fire | Aug 8, 2023 |
| Mauna Kea Beach Fire | Aug 8, 2023 |
| Wildfires And High Winds | Aug 8, 2023 |
| Mana Road Fire | Aug 1, 2021 |
| Hurricane Douglas | Jul 23, 2020 |
| Tropical Storm Olivia | Sep 9, 2018 |
| Hurricane Lane | Aug 22, 2018 |
| Kilauea Volcanic Eruption And Earthquakes | May 3, 2018 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
225 since 1996: 132 flash floods and 88 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Aug 25, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 25, 2024 | $3.0M |
| Flood | Aug 25, 2024 | $5.0M |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 25, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 24, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 18, 2024 | $1.0M |
| Flash Flood | May 11, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 10, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Aug 25, 2024. Hurricane Hone, which formed in the Central Pacific, tracked towards the Hawaiian islands and passed by just south of the Big Island. Hurricane Hone's outer rain bands brought flooding to portions of the Big Island and the close proximity of the center of the storm brought widespread tropical storm force winds with pockets of power outages over the Big Island and Maui. Thousands of customers reportedly lost power…
Flash Flood · Aug 25, 2024. Hurricane Hone, which formed in the Central Pacific, tracked towards the Hawaiian islands and passed by just south of the Big Island. Hurricane Hone's outer rain bands brought flooding to portions of the Big Island and the close proximity of the center of the storm brought widespread tropical storm force winds with pockets of power outages over the Big Island and Maui. Thousands of customers reportedly lost power…
Flood · Aug 25, 2024. Hurricane Hone, which formed in the Central Pacific, tracked towards the Hawaiian islands and passed by just south of the Big Island. Hurricane Hone's outer rain bands brought flooding to portions of the Big Island and the close proximity of the center of the storm brought widespread tropical storm force winds with pockets of power outages over the Big Island and Maui. Thousands of customers reportedly lost power…
Tropical Storm · Aug 24, 2024. Hurricane Hone, which formed in the Central Pacific, tracked towards the Hawaiian islands and passed by just south of the Big Island. Hurricane Hone's outer rain bands brought flooding to portions of the Big Island and the close proximity of the center of the storm brought widespread tropical storm force winds with pockets of power outages over the Big Island and Maui. Thousands of customers reportedly lost power…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Hawaii County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.