Natural hazards · Kahului

Kahului, HI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kahului comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 13 claims here since 1980. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Kahului?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kahului to be higher than in 95% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and tsunamis.

Earthquakes35%Tsunamis35%Inland flooding27%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Kahului faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Earthquakes

35% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Tsunamis

35% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesHailWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesAvalanches

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Kahului flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Kahului, from FEMA’s records.

13paid claims since 1980

$300Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19802026

Biggest named events

2026-03-KonaStorm: 2 claims, $12K

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Kahului isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Maui County.

Disasters that hit Kahului

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Kahului itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Kahului.

Brought FEMA money into KahuluiDeclared for Maui County only

2026

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

44 households applied for aid $184K aid approved

2023

Wildfires and High Winds

1,179 households applied for aid $68K aid approved

Maui County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and hurricanes.

Around Kahului

Kahului and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Kahuluimostly earthquakesVery high

Wailukumostly inland floodingVery high

Waikapumostly inland floodingVery high

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Kahului covers 6 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Kahului’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Kahului. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Kahului total about $33.1M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.