Hawaii County, Hawaii

What hazards hit Hawaii County most?

The most frequent records are rip current and surf records: 1,001 since 2004. The rank column places the county among Hawaii's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Hawaii County had?

NOAA records 10 tornadoes in Hawaii County from 1955 to 2004, the strongest rated F1, with 0 deaths and 4 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 8 tornadoes whose track touched Hawaii County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 10: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Hawaii.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Hawaii County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 14, 2026 high surf ($50,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Hawaii County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Drought in the 2010s: 253 records against 71 in the decade before, 253 of them forecast-zone records. High wind and dust storms in the 2010s: 111 records against 29 in the decade before, 111 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Hawaii County days with a record above.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

Records by month in Hawaii County. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Hawaii County

FEMA's register lists 34 declarations that include Hawaii County: 17 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 11 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for fire (12) and hurricane (5).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Hawaii County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 227 flood or flash flood records for Hawaii County from 1996 to 2026, on 172 days, with 5 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Hawaii County ranks 383rd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $23.4 million on 800 claims filed in Hawaii County; the most in one year was 104 in 2011. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Hawaii County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hawaii County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $365 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Next

• Tornadoes in HawaiiEvery Hawaii tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Rip currents and high surf in HawaiiThe state's rip current and surf records, by county, year and month
• The Hawaii recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Hawaii CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Hawaii County's FEMA declarations (CSV)34 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis