FEMA Records
17
Below median
Hawaii · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Kauai County, HI
17 FEMA disaster declarations (1974-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 17
- FEMA declarations
- 13
- Major disasters
- 84
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Kauai County has a nationally busy FEMA history: 17 declarations, more than 32% of counties in this registry. But the state comparison tempers that reading: the total is 17% below the Hawaii county mean. FEMA's separate National Risk Index places the county in the riskiest 16%; that score models loss and vulnerability rather than counting declarations.
- Riskiest 16%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 17
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 1,495
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records; an EM authorizes a narrower set of federal assistance than a DR.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 15007 · Kauai County 17 declarations · rank 2191/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-MID · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-MID · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-BELOW
- DECL-MID 17
- MAJOR-MID 76%
- RANK-LOWER #2,191
- PHOTO-FINISH Curry
- NRI-MID 84
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Hurricane
- VS-ST-BELOW -17%
Nearest declaration peer: Curry, OR (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Hawaii state profile
Kauai County among counties with fewer federal records
FEMA declaration records among Kauai County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Curry · near 17
Curry · near
17 declarations
- Kauai · this county 17
Kauai · this county
17 declarations
- Murray · near 17
Murray · near
17 declarations
- Washington · near 17
Washington · near
17 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Kauai County carries 17 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2191 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Kauai County versus quieter counties in this dataset
Kauai County among lower-declaration counties nationally
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Kauai County
17 32nd percentile higher than 32% of 3,266 counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-25
Kauai County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Kauai County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $47.7M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Landslide carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate). EAL and risk score use different inputs; they need not agree.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025 release) - Expected Annual Loss vs composite risk rating by hazard.
What does Kauai County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 1,495 claims and $47.7M in payments. PlainHazard labels 500 or more claims a heavy registry record; that is a reporting bucket, not an official FEMA risk grade. The average paid claim was $31.9K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
Start with the state benchmark: a Hawaii county averages 20.6 federal declaration records, while Kauai County has 17. The gap is 17% below that mean. Fewer entries indicate a quieter history of recorded federal actions, not immunity from a hazard and not a prediction about what happens next.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 84.4/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $60.9M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively Low and community resilience Very High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Among the 18 modeled hazards, Landslide carries the county's highest rating, a mid-range Relatively Moderate. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 6 years here.
56 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Kauai County, HI · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite from FEMA declaration history only on the county surface (this DB has no county-level NOAA damage row) . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) Moderate
12/30
17 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.8x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
10/25
17 declarations (0.8x state county average of 21)
Major Disaster Share Very High
19/25
13 of 17 declarations are major disasters (76%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
15/20
6 different disaster types declared in Kauai County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Kauai County
How to read this radar
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
Major Disaster share
76%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
84
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Kauai County?
FEMA's National Risk Index models a historical event count and an annualized frequency for each hazard type. Most hazards are expressed as modeled occurrences per year; FEMA expresses drought and heat-wave frequency as event-days per year. These modeled frequencies are not forecasts.
| Hazard | NRI Risk Rating | Recurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 6 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 203 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 5.8 times per year |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 79 times per year |
| Tsunami | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | roughly once every 10 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively Low | roughly once every 4 years |
| Earthquake | Very Low | roughly once every 1,182 years |
| Drought | Very Low | 4.2 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 119 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 150 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 5
Flood 4
Severe Storm 4
Biological 2
Earthquake 1
Typhoon 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Kauai County's federal record, 29% of its declarations. Atlantic tropical systems run on a defined season, 1 June to 30 November, with most activity concentrated between August and October; Pacific and territorial basins run on their own calendars. A single named storm routinely produces one declaration number covering a long corridor of counties at once, well inland as well as on the coast, which is why an affected county's count can jump by several in one year without several separate events having occurred.
One practical distinction matters when reading these records: a tropical declaration usually bundles wind, storm surge and inland rainfall flooding under a single incident, but the insurance behind them is split. Wind damage falls to property insurers, while flood and surge damage is covered only under a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy. That is why a county can show heavy declaration activity and a comparatively small NFIP claims record, or the reverse.
Declaration counts describe past federal action. They are a record of what was declared, not a forecast of future hazard probability.
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster - 13 76.5%
of all 17 declarations
Emergency - 4 23.5%
of all 17 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2018 | 4 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 1992 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1974 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 17 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 17 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4793 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2024-06-17 |
| 3529 | HURRICANE DOUGLAS | EM | Hurricane | 2020-07-25 |
| 4549 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2020-07-09 |
| 4510 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-01 |
| 3431 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4395 | HURRICANE LANE | DR | Hurricane | 2018-09-27 |
| 3404 | TROPICAL STORM OLIVIA | EM | Hurricane | 2018-09-12 |
| 3399 | HURRICANE LANE | EM | Hurricane | 2018-08-22 |
| 4365 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2018-05-08 |
| 4062 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-04-18 |
| 1814 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2009-01-05 |
| 1743 | SEVERE STORMS, HIGH SURF, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2008-02-06 |
| 1664 | EARTHQUAKE | DR | Earthquake | 2006-10-17 |
| 1640 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-05-02 |
| 961 | HURRICANE INIKI | DR | Hurricane | 1992-09-12 |
| 671 | TYPHOON IWA | DR | Typhoon | 1982-11-27 |
| 433 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1974-05-07 |
Storm Events in Hawaii
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Kauai County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Surf | 3,536 | 20 | 28 | $672.0K |
| Heavy Rain | 1,044 | 4 | 2 | $0 |
| Drought | 899 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Flash Flood | 223 | 6 | 4 | $125.1M |
| Strong Wind | 127 | 0 | 11 | $555.8K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
1,495
Total Paid
$47.7M
Avg Per Claim
$31.9K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 84.4/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$60.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Landslide Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively High
Tsunami Relatively Moderate
Hurricane Relatively Low
Coastal Flooding Relatively Low
Earthquake Very Low
Drought Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Cold Wave No Rating
Hail No Rating
Heat Wave No Rating
Volcanic Activity No Rating
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
The model's sharpest exposure here: Landslide
Landslide risk is a function of slope, soil and water, so it is usually a SECOND-ORDER hazard: it is triggered by the rainfall, snowmelt, wildfire burn scars or seismic shaking that came first. That is why a county can carry high landslide exposure whose realized damage is recorded under a flood or storm declaration instead.
Worth noting for Kauai County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Landslide carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively Moderate), while the county's declaration history is led by Hurricane. That is not a contradiction, the two measure genuinely different things. Declarations record federal ACTION, which requires damage costly enough to exceed state and local capacity; the Risk Index models EXPECTED annual loss across all 18 hazards whether or not any declaration ever followed. A hazard can be the county's largest modeled exposure and never once have driven a declaration.
National Risk Index ratings are modeled estimates of expected annual loss, not predictions of what will happen in any given year.
Data-matched county comparisons
Kauai County's closest FEMA peer: Kleberg County, TX
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Kauai County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Kauai County: NRI composite 84.4 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar Major-disaster share
Kauai County: 13 of 17 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Kauai County shows 17 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
How these peers are chosen
Cohort: Published U.S. county equivalents outside the source state or territory. Each metric keeps six ETL candidates; three unique destinations are shown after de-duplicating across axes. Declaration-volume ranking combines count and Major-disaster share and prefers a different leading incident type; Major-share ranks the Major fraction adjusted for volume; NRI ranks the modeled composite score only.
Retained FEMA snapshot feed for Kauai County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Kauai County: nearest out-of-state National Risk Index composite and nearest FEMA declaration count (floor ≥5 records). Record similarity only, not a forecast of the next hazard.
Similar NRI composite
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA NRI score. This county: 84.4 (Relatively Moderate).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 17. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Kauai County's NFIP claims file (1,495 claims) and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records - this guide separates them from modeled NRI risk.
More PlainHazard guides
- Most disaster-prone counties - U.S. counties ranked by FEMA declaration totals.
- Understanding disaster data - declarations vs storm events vs NRI scores.
- Preparing for natural disasters - household checklist (not county-specific advice).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Kauai County?
The most common disaster type in Kauai County is Hurricane, with 5 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (4), Severe Storm (4), Biological (2).
How does Kauai County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Hawaii average?
The typical Hawaii county has 20.6 FEMA declaration records; Kauai County has 17, or 17% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 18% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Kauai County received?
Kauai County has received 13 major disaster declarations, representing 76% of all 17 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Kauai County filed?
Kauai County has 1,495 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $47.7M in payments, with an average of $31.9K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Kauai County?
No. In Kauai County, Landslide has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively Moderate), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $47.7M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Kauai County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Kauai County was 2018, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1974 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Kauai County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Kauai County, Hawaii has an overall risk score of 84.4 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively Low; on community resilience, Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $60.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Kauai County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Kauai County is Landslide (risk rating: Relatively Moderate). Other significant hazards include Wildfire (Relatively Moderate) and Riverine Flooding (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts landslide here at roughly once every 6 years. These scores are based on FEMA's analysis of historical event frequency, exposed assets, and community vulnerability.
Data Sources & Methodology
Disaster declaration data comes from the FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 API, which includes all federally declared disasters, emergencies, and fire management assistance grants.
Storm event data is sourced from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025), which tracks significant weather events including thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, and winter storms.
Flood insurance data comes from the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA claims dataset.
This data is provided for informational purposes only. FEMA disaster declarations represent federal response actions and may not capture all local emergencies or weather events.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Kauai County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Hawaii profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events