Hawaii Natural Disaster Risk by County
Of Hawaii's 5 counties, 0 have a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is Honolulu County (score 98.8 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $1.1 billion a year.
OpenFEMA lists 75 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for Hawaii since 1955 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is DR-4952-HI, Hurricane Lowell, declared 7 October 2026.
Live weather alerts for Hawaii Latest FEMA declarations All official warnings
Most exposed counties, hazard by hazard
Top 10 by FEMA hazard risk scoreHurricane 5 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu County | Relatively Low | $880,426 |
| 2 | Maui County | Relatively Low | $552,512 |
| 3 | Hawaii County | Relatively Low | $447,385 |
| 4 | Kauai County | Relatively Low | $395,399 |
| 5 | Kalawao County | Very Low | $1,650 |
Tornado 5 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu County | Relatively Low | $687,813 |
| 2 | Hawaii County | Very Low | $33,455 |
| 3 | Maui County | Very Low | $25,326 |
| 4 | Kauai County | Very Low | $4,975 |
| 5 | Kalawao County | Very Low | $104 |
Inland flooding 5 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu County | Very High | $330 million |
| 2 | Hawaii County | Relatively High | $185 million |
| 3 | Maui County | Relatively High | $59 million |
| 4 | Kauai County | Relatively Moderate | $48 million |
| 5 | Kalawao County | Very Low | $154,513 |
Coastal flooding 5 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu County | Relatively Moderate | $1.8 million |
| 2 | Maui County | Relatively Low | $246,404 |
| 3 | Hawaii County | Relatively Low | $125,380 |
| 4 | Kauai County | Relatively Low | $140,358 |
| 5 | Kalawao County | Very Low | $92 |
Wildfire 5 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu County | Relatively High | $27 million |
| 2 | Hawaii County | Relatively High | $14 million |
| 3 | Maui County | Relatively Moderate | $3.8 million |
| 4 | Kauai County | Relatively Moderate | $2.6 million |
| 5 | Kalawao County | Very Low | $5,788 |
Earthquake 5 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii County | Relatively High | $121 million |
| 2 | Honolulu County | Relatively High | $93 million |
| 3 | Maui County | Relatively Moderate | $33 million |
| 4 | Kauai County | Very Low | $210,182 |
| 5 | Kalawao County | Very Low | $41,212 |
Every Hawaii county, highest overall risk first
5| # | County | Overall risk | Score | Loss a year | Top hazard | Declarations | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu County | Relatively High | 98.8 | $517 million | Lightning | 23 | 20 |
| 2 | Hawaii County | Relatively High | 98.5 | $365 million | Volcanic activity | 33 | 8 |
| 3 | Maui County | Relatively Moderate | 93.1 | $132 million | Volcanic activity | 31 | 5 |
| 4 | Kauai County | Relatively Moderate | 84.4 | $61 million | Landslide | 17 | 6 |
| 5 | Kalawao County | Very Low | 0.1 | $260,404 | Earthquake | 1 | 0 |
Score: FEMA's national percentile (higher = more risk). Declarations: federal declarations that named the county since 1953, not counting COVID-19. Tornadoes: NOAA SPC tornadoes that touched the county, 1950–2025.
Latest federal declarations in Hawaii
Other states and territories
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming American Samoa Guam Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Virgin Islands
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index compares every US county with every other for 18 natural hazards, combining expected losses with social vulnerability and community resilience. It is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not the risk to any one property — for flood zones use FEMA's Flood Map Service Center ↗. Federal declarations exclude state declarations and SBA or USDA designations.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Hawaii
Which county in Hawaii has the highest natural disaster risk?
Of Hawaii's 5 counties, 0 have a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is Honolulu County (score 98.8 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $1.1 billion a year.
Which Hawaii counties are most at risk from tornadoes?
By FEMA's National Risk Index tornado risk score: Honolulu County, Hawaii County, Maui County. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
Which Hawaii counties are most at risk from hurricanes?
By FEMA's National Risk Index hurricane risk score: Honolulu County, Maui County, Hawaii County. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has Hawaii had?
OpenFEMA lists 75 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for Hawaii since 1955 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is DR-4952-HI, Hurricane Lowell, declared 7 October 2026.