Natural hazards · Kapaau

Kapaau, HI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kapaau comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kapaau?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kapaau to be higher than in 100% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding66%Wildfire18%Earthquakes15%

By hazard

What Kapaau faces

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

Inland flooding

66% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Wildfire

18% of expected damage

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

Earthquakes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesHailLandslidesStrong 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 Kapaau flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Kapaau.

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Kapaau 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 Kapaau

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KapaauDeclared for Hawaii County only

2026

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

1 household applied for aid $22K aid approved

2018

Kilauea Volcanic Eruption and Earthquakes

1 household applied for aid

2006

Earthquake

462 households applied for aid $2.1M aid approved

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

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. Kapaau is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

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

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.