819 flood insurance claims·$26.1M paid·6 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 Maui 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 driven by heavy rainfall and severe storms dominates the flood history of Maui County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 122 flash flood events resulting in 3 deaths, alongside 57 general flood events. Recent severe weather includes a strong low-pressure system in January 2025 that brought 3 to 6 inches of rain to the southwestern flank of Haleakala and caused flooding in southwest Maui. Additionally, a strong cold front impacted the islands in January 2024, bringing periods of heavy rain, gusty winds, and localized flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate distinct impacts across hazard zones. Properties in coastal Zone V recorded 177 claims with an average payout of $161,944 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone A saw the highest claim volume with 416 claims, averaging $29,658 and an average water depth of 4 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties logged 117 claims with an average payout of $46,405 and a higher average recorded water depth of 15 inches.
Homeowners in coastal areas subject to wave action, residents in low-lying areas vulnerable to rapid runoff, and property owners in designated flood zones should pay the closest attention to these risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11% of Maui County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
666 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 5 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 2026, with 158 claims and $10.2M 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.
37 NOAA storm reports from Maui County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Hawaii flood stories →
29 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Holomua Fire | Sep 23, 2025 |
| Lahaina Fire | Aug 9, 2023 |
| Pulehu Fire | Aug 9, 2023 |
| Upcountry Fire | Aug 9, 2023 |
| Wildfires And High Winds | Aug 8, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides | Dec 5, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides | Mar 8, 2021 |
| Hurricane Douglas | Jul 23, 2020 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
179 since 1996: 122 flash floods and 57 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 16, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Nov 30, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 29, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 27, 2023 | — · 1 killed |
| Flood | Dec 1, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 18, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 31, 2025. A strong low that passed a few hundred miles north of the state produced gale force winds and heavy rainfall over all of the main Hawaiian Islands. The worst flooding affected O'ahu during the daylight hours of January 30 and southwest Maui that night. The Kuli'ou'ou and Hawai'i Kai areas appeared to have the worst flooding on O'ahu due to the passage of an intense rain band with 2- to 4-inch per hour rain rates.…
Flood · Jan 16, 2024. A cold front caused flooding and wind damage over portions of the islands.
Flood · Jan 9, 2024. A strong cold front impacted the Hawaiian Islands and brought periods of heavy rain and gusty winds. This resulted in flooding over portions of the islands as well as wind damage.
Flood · Nov 30, 2023. A kona low developed west-northwest of the Hawaiian Islands and brought periods of heavy rainfall and isolated thunderstorms. Heavy rainfall lead to localized flash flooding and landslides across portions of the State. Impacts from the kona low continued into December 2023 and are covered in episode 186869.
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 Maui 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.