Guam natural disasters

The territory's storm and disaster record · population 153,310 · one county equivalent

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 303 storm events in Guam since 1950, 303 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded. The most frequent records are rip current and surf records (90). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest event in Guam is Tropical Storm Tingting (June 29, 2004): 7 deaths and $9.4 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 3 records filed by several offices. FEMA has made 25 declarations for Guam since 1962, 23 for natural hazards; 19 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in Guam each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

recorded, no damage figure
under $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
a year with a death
1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
1996: all 48 event types from 1996

Storm events recorded: 3031950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 81383 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $5.5Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
FEMA declarations: 2519 major disasters

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); tornado count: NOAA Storm Prediction Center, 1950-2025; damage in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U). Search the record at NCEI.

What natural disasters happen in Guam?

By NOAA's records, Guam's most frequent hazards are rip current and surf records (90), floods and flash floods (89), fog, smoke and funnel cloud records (37); the deadliest are rip current and surf records (72 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

Guam: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Rip currents and high surf	90	16	72	73	$14M	1 of 1
Floods	89	17	1	0	$13M	1 of 1
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	37	0	0	0	–	1 of 1
Hurricanes and tropical storms	31	8	5	306	$5.5B	1 of 1
Lightning	19	1	2	0	$759K	1 of 1
High wind and dust storms	14	3	0	3	$1.5M	1 of 1
Drought	12	8	0	0	–	1 of 1
Wildfires	7	1	0	1	$453K	1 of 1
Heavy rain	2	0	1	0	$13K	1 of 1
Landslides and avalanches	1	1	0	0	$15K	1 of 1
Severe thunderstorm wind	1	1	0	0	$114K	1 of 1

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in Guam?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

Guam: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
2004-06-29	Tropical Storm Tingting · High SurfGuam · forecast zone Guam One named storm filed by several offices: 3 records in 3 episodes; the totals are the storm's. After five men went out into the waters off Piti in three kayaks, heavy surf overturned the kayaks. Two bodies were later recovered, and the other three are presumed drowned. The surf was related to Typhoon Ting-Ting, which had passed through the northern Mariana Islands the previous day, and was at that time about ...	7	0	$9.4M
2014-01-06	High SurfGuam · forecast zone Guam On January 6th 2014 The body of 19 year old Petty Officer 3rd Class Rjay Domondon was recovered around 7 am on the 6th. The victim reportedly went spearfishing alone in waters behind the Agat Cemetery. A 911 call was placed at 7:23 pm on Sunday the 5th of January. A search was conducted by Guam Fire Department, U.S. ...	3	1	–
2001-01-03	Rip CurrentRitidian Point, Guam A husband and wife (both 54 years of age) were snorkeling with their three children (a 26 year old female, a 23 year old male and a 20 year old male). Rough waters dragged them over the reef. One of the couple's sons was able to swim to shore and call for help at the nearby U.S Fish and Wildlife office. The officials ...	2	3	–
2013-12-25	High SurfGuam · forecast zone Guam At around 12:00pm, Wednesday, December 25, 2013, Katwin Dois (37) and Edward Sotam (40) arrived at the Jonestown Overlook in Tamuning with two other relatives where they started drinking beer and vodka at the fishing area. Around 3:40 pm, Katwin fell off the right side of the cliff line onto a rock platform, rendering ...	2	2	–
2013-12-20	High SurfGuam · forecast zone Guam One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. Hazardous Surf and Strong Rip Currents Caused a number of deaths across Guam.	2	2	–
2015-08-04	Rip CurrentGuam · forecast zone Guam At 10:12 a.m. on the morning of August the 4th Guam Fire Department responded to a call at Matapang Beach in Tumon Bay. Life guards had pulled a 67 year old man from the water. Fire Department rescuers took the man to the hospital at 10:36 a.m.. Swell from distant Super Typhoon Soudelor was impacting the area. A High ...	2	2	–
2011-01-02	High SurfGuam · forecast zone Guam At about 17:30 GST the evening of January 2nd, a six-person outrigger canoe rowed by a high-school rowing club capsized in rough water and high surf along the reef line of Tumon Bay on the west coast of Guam. A man in a kayak who went out to help was also overturned in the surf. Two of the rowers in the canoe drowned, ...	2	1	–
2024-03-17	Rip CurrentGuam · forecast zone Guam One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. A mix of northerly and easterly swells led to hazardous conditions in the surf zone of Guam.	2	1	–
2016-10-20	Rip CurrentGuam · forecast zone Guam On the morning of the 21st of October around 7:30 a.m. a man in his late 40s was pulled from the water near Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort in Tamuning. After the man was taken from the water CPR was performed on him on route to the hospital. The man survived. On the 22nd of October, two people were found face down by ...	2	1	–
2023-05-23	Typhoon Mawar · Hurricane (Typhoon)Guam · forecast zone Guam On May 17th a circulation that had been over the area for a few days was classified as Invest 97W by JTWC. 97W was located to the west-southwest of Chuuk at that time. Scatterometer data showed a west-wind burst south of the circulation with winds up to 30 knots. On the morning of May 18th, 97W was located near ...	2	0	$3.9B

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in Guam

Guam: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
2023-05-23	Hurricane (Typhoon)Guam · forecast zone Guam	2	0	$3.9B
1997-12-15	Hurricane (Typhoon)Andersen Afb, Guam	0	2	$919M
2026-04-13	Tropical StormGuam · forecast zone Guam	2	0	$437M
2002-12-08	Hurricane (Typhoon)Guam · forecast zone Guam	1	300	$205M
2013-10-11	High SurfGuam · forecast zone Guam	0	0	$13M
2018-09-10	Hurricane (Typhoon)Guam · forecast zone Guam	0	0	$11M
2004-06-27	Flash FloodCountywide, Guam	1	0	$9.4M
2015-05-14	Hurricane (Typhoon)Guam · forecast zone Guam	0	0	$7.7M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in Guam have the most records?

Guam 303

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in Guam

Guam303

Federal disaster declarations in Guam

FEMA has made 25 declarations for Guam since 1962: 19 major disasters, 5 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. The most common incident types are typhoon (15), tropical storm (3), biological (2).

1960s 2
1970s 1
1980s 1
1990s 5
2000s 4
2010s 4
2020s 8

The 15 most recent declarations in Guam
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2026-07-03	EM-3648	Typhoon	Typhoon Bavi	1
2026-06-30	DR-4921	Typhoon	Super Typhoon Sinlaku	1
2026-04-11	EM-3644	Tropical Storm	Typhoon Sinlaku	1
2023-10-08	EM-3601	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Bolaven	1
2023-05-25	DR-4715	Hurricane	Typhoon Mawar	1
2023-05-22	EM-3594	Tropical Storm	Typhoon Mawar	1
2020-03-27	DR-4495	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	1
2020-03-13	EM-3466	Biological	Covid-19	1
2019-05-07	DR-4433	Typhoon	Typhoon Wutip	1
2018-10-01	DR-4398	Typhoon	Typhoon Mangkhut	1
2015-06-05	DR-4224	Typhoon	Typhoon Dolphin	1
2014-09-10	DR-4191	Severe Storm	Tropical Storm Halong	1
2004-07-29	DR-1533	Severe Storm	High Winds, Flooding, and Mudslides As A Result of Tropical Storm Tingting	1
2002-12-08	DR-1446	Typhoon	Super Typhoon Pongsona	1
2002-07-06	DR-1426	Typhoon	Typhoon Chata'an	1

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in Guam

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $2.5 million on 182 claims in 1 Guam county. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.