Natural hazards · Wailua

Wailua, HI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wailua comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 48 claims here since 1981. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Wailua?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wailua to be higher than in 97% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tsunamis.

Inland flooding66%Tsunamis29%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Wailua 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 · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tsunamis

29% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesDroughtAvalanchesVolcanic activity

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 Wailua flood?

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

48paid claims since 1981

$2.8Mpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19812026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Iniki: 16 claims, $1.7M

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Kauai County.

Disasters that hit Wailua

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WailuaDeclared for Kauai County only

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $3K aid approved

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

1 household applied for aid

Kauai County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

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. Wailua covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Wailua’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Wailua. 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 Wailua total about $5.0M 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.