Natural hazards · Lahaina

Lahaina, HI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lahaina comes from tsunamis, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 41 claims here since 1982. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lahaina?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lahaina to be higher than in 91% of U.S. communities, mostly from tsunamis and inland flooding.

Tsunamis41%Inland flooding32%Earthquakes21%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Lahaina faces

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

Tsunamis

41% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

32% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

21% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

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 Lahaina flood?

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

41paid claims since 1982

$983Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Iniki: 4 claims, $267K

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Lahaina 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 Lahaina

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LahainaDeclared for Maui County only

2026

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

37 households applied for aid $115K aid approved

2023

Wildfires and High Winds

10,462 households applied for aid $87.1M aid approved

2006

Earthquake

1 household applied for aid

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

Around Lahaina

Lahaina and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Launiupokomostly inland floodingVery high

Lahainamostly tsunamisVery high

Kaanapalimostly tsunamisVery 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. Lahaina covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Lahaina’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Lahaina. 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 Lahaina total about $7.2M 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.