Natural hazards · Kailua

Kailua, HI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kailua comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 19 claims here since 1985. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kailua?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Earthquakes49%Inland flooding42%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Kailua faces

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

Earthquakes

49% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

42% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesHailWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Kailua flood?

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

19paid claims since 1985

$1.1Mpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19852026

Biggest named events

2026-03-KonaStorm: 4 claims, $532K
Hurricane Iniki: 1 claim, $26K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hawaii County.

Disasters that hit Kailua

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KailuaDeclared for Hawaii County only

2026

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

54 households applied for aid $293K aid approved

2023

Wildfires and High Winds

5 households applied for aid

Hawaii County has had 29 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and hurricanes.

Around Kailua

Kailua and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Holualoamostly inland floodingVery high

Kailuamostly earthquakesVery high

Kaiminanimostly inland floodingVery high

Kahaluu-Keauhoumostly earthquakesVery 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. Kailua covers 5 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Kailua’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Kailua. 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 Kailua total about $25.7M 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.