Flood Help Guide

Hawaii flood insurance and flood history

From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08

6,285NFIP flood claims since 1978
$167.9 millionPaid on those claims
$71,477Average paid claimlast 10 years
3.9%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
14Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 6,285 flood insurance claims in Hawaii since 1978. The NFIP paid $167.9 million on them (building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments, in the dollars of the year paid).

The year with the most claims was 1992, with 1,116, mostly from Hurricane Iniki.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 1,518 claims, and the average paid claim was $71,477.

29% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).

About 3.9% of homes in Hawaii had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (11,829 of 304,141 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 88% (7,309 of 8,317).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 14 flood-related disaster declarations covering parts of Hawaii. The most recent was EM-3654-HI (Tropical Storm Nolo), declared September 25, 2026.

Flood insurance claims in Hawaii by year

NFIP flood claims per year in Hawaii, 1978 to 202605001k1.5k2k1978: 44 claims, $129,930 paid1979: 67 claims, $195,187 paid1980: 227 claims, $1.0 million paid19801981: 49 claims, $86,973 paid1982: 280 claims, $4.1 million paid1983: 99 claims, $337,841 paid1984: 50 claims, $234,900 paid1985: 85 claims, $252,335 paid1986: 130 claims, $1.3 million paid1987: 131 claims, $1.0 million paid1988: 173 claims, $1.6 million paid1989: 53 claims, $114,586 paid1990: 38 claims, $99,683 paid19901991: 251 claims, $1.9 million paid1992: 1,116 claims, $35.9 million paid1993: 41 claims, $274,822 paid1994: 64 claims, $488,416 paid1995: 99 claims, $1.1 million paid1996: 163 claims, $850,993 paid1997: 33 claims, $478,589 paid1998: 13 claims, $104,716 paid1999: 17 claims, $72,324 paid2000: 81 claims, $1.9 million paid20002001: 31 claims, $185,481 paid2002: 48 claims, $617,834 paid2003: 93 claims, $1.8 million paid2004: 97 claims, $850,021 paid2005: 44 claims, $228,605 paid2006: 200 claims, $3.8 million paid2007: 93 claims, $1.6 million paid2008: 214 claims, $5.1 million paid2009: 25 claims, $290,505 paid2010: 47 claims, $737,523 paid20102011: 231 claims, $12.4 million paid2012: 114 claims, $1.9 million paid2013: 17 claims, $179,269 paid2014: 70 claims, $1.6 million paid2015: 43 claims, $1.0 million paid2016: 96 claims, $4.1 million paid2017: 47 claims, $1.0 million paid2018: 521 claims, $30.8 million paid2019: 36 claims, $340,526 paid2020: 52 claims, $1.1 million paid20202021: 202 claims, $7.5 million paid2022: 36 claims, $2.0 million paid2023: 36 claims, $4.5 million paid2024: 90 claims, $3.9 million paid2025: 39 claims, $3.0 million paid2026: 459 claims, $23.7 million paid
NFIP claims per year by year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for the count and amount paid. 2026 is partial.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
2026459$23.7 million
202539$3.0 million
202490$3.9 million
202336$4.5 million
202236$2.0 million
2021202$7.5 million
202052$1.1 million
201936$340,526
2018521$30.8 million
201747$1.0 million
201696$4.1 million
201543$1.0 million
201470$1.6 million
201317$179,269
2012114$1.9 million
2011231$12.4 million
201047$737,523
200925$290,505
2008214$5.1 million
200793$1.6 million
2006200$3.8 million
200544$228,605
200497$850,021
200393$1.8 million
200248$617,834
200131$185,481
200081$1.9 million
199917$72,324
199813$104,716
199733$478,589
1996163$850,993
199599$1.1 million
199464$488,416
199341$274,822
19921,116$35.9 million
1991251$1.9 million
199038$99,683
198953$114,586
1988173$1.6 million
1987131$1.0 million
1986130$1.3 million
198585$252,335
198450$234,900
198399$337,841
1982280$4.1 million
198149$86,973
1980227$1.0 million
197967$195,187
197844$129,930

Biggest flood events by NFIP payments

The flood events FEMA's claims data names most often for Hawaii, ranked by what the NFIP paid. FEMA names events in its claims records; claims without an event name aren't included here.

EventYearClaimsPaid
Hurricane Iniki19921,062$35.6 million
2026-03-KonaStorm2026422$23.1 million
Flooding1982152$3.5 million
Flooding200053$1.5 million
Flooding198894$1.3 million
Flooding198797$966,738
Flooding1980143$877,638
Hurricane Lane201827$693,371
Hurricane Iselle201411$329,097
2025 July West Coast Tsunami20253$86,472

Flood history by county

Every Hawaii county in FEMA's data, sorted by number of NFIP claims since 1978. "Insured" is the share of homes with an NFIP policy.

CountyClaimsPaidInsuredFlood declarations
Honolulu County3,069$69.9 million4.1%7
Kauai County1,495$47.7 million7.0%8
Maui County819$26.1 million4.8%8
Hawaii County800$23.4 million1.8%4
Kalawao County0$00.0%0

Flood-related FEMA disaster declarations in Hawaii

Declarations since 2000 that FEMA lists as involving flooding. "Help for individuals" means FEMA's Individual Assistance was approved for at least part of the area.

DeclarationDeclaredEventHelp for individuals
EM-3654-HI Sep 25, 2026 Tropical Storm Nolo No
DR-4909-HI Apr 7, 2026 Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides Yes
DR-4793-HI Jun 17, 2024 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides No
DR-4639-HI Feb 15, 2022 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides No
DR-4604-HI May 13, 2021 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides No
DR-4549-HI Jul 9, 2020 Severe Storms and Flooding No
DR-4365-HI May 8, 2018 Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides Yes
DR-4282-HI Oct 6, 2016 Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-4062-HI Apr 18, 2012 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides No
DR-1814-HI Jan 5, 2009 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
DR-1743-HI Feb 6, 2008 Severe Storms, High Surf, Flooding, and Mudslides No
DR-1640-HI May 2, 2006 Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides Yes
DR-1575-HI Feb 1, 2005 Severe Storms and Flash Flooding No
DR-1348-HI Nov 9, 2000 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes

What to do with this

A county's history doesn't tell you your own building's risk. To see your property's flood zone, use FEMA's flood map lookup. To weigh coverage, start with do I need flood insurance? and what flood insurance costs.

Where these numbers come from

All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:

FEMA's redacted claims data doesn't identify properties, and FEMA notes that some records lack a county or flood zone. See how we use the data.