Marshall Islands natural disasters
The freely associated state's storm and disaster record · 24 counties and county equivalents
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 68 storm events in Marshall Islands since 1950, 68 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded. The most frequent records are drought records (45). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest storm in Marshall Islands is the March 11, 2015 tropical storm: 9 deaths and $2.6 million in damage in 2025 dollars. FEMA has made 7 declarations for Marshall Islands since 1987; 7 were major disasters.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm events recorded in Marshall Islands 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
- 681950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 101 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $162Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- FEMA declarations
- 77 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 Marshall Islands?
By NOAA's records, Marshall Islands' most frequent hazards are drought records (45), floods and flash floods (8), hurricane and tropical storm records (7); the deadliest are hurricane and tropical storm records (10 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.
| Hazard | Records | Last 10 years | Killed | Injured | Damage | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drought | 45 | 36 | 0 | 0 | $424K | 0 of 24 |
| Floods | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | $3.8M | 0 of 24 |
| Hurricanes and tropical storms | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | $155M | 0 of 24 |
| High wind and dust storms | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | $3.4M | 0 of 24 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | $261K | 0 of 24 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $63K | 0 of 24 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 of 24 |
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 Marshall Islands?
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.
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-03-11 | Tropical StormMarshall Islands · forecast zone Marshall Islands On the night of the 9th of March, scatterometer data indicated a circulation south of Majuro near 4N172E. By the afternoon of the 11th it had moved to about 80 miles south of Majuro. By that night the circulation increased it's distance from Majuro and gained enough strength to become Tropical Depression 03W. The ... | 9 | 0 | $2.6M | |
| 2001-12-12 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Marshall Islands · forecast zone Marshall Islands A trough of low pressure had been noted for days in synoptic and Quick Scat data betweenthe equator and 10N and from 150E to 160E. By the evening of the 10th a circulation was observed in Quick Scat data near 5N156E. Between 16Z and 21Z on the morning of the 11th an automated weather observing station on Nukuror(3.85N ... | 1 | 0 | $1.5M |
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 Marshall Islands
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-12-09 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Mili | 0 | 0 | $147M | |
| 2014-03-02 | Coastal FloodMarshall Islands · forecast zone Marshall Islands | 0 | 0 | $3.7M | |
| 2023-02-06 | Strong WindMarshall Islands · forecast zone Marshall Islands | 30 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $3.4M |
| 2015-03-11 | Tropical StormMarshall Islands · forecast zone Marshall Islands | 9 | 0 | $2.6M | |
| 2004-12-10 | Tropical StormMarshall Islands · forecast zone Marshall Islands | 0 | 0 | $1.6M | |
| 2001-12-12 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Marshall Islands · forecast zone Marshall Islands | 1 | 0 | $1.5M | |
| 2008-12-09 | Storm Surge/TideMarshall Islands · forecast zone Marshall Islands | 0 | 0 | $1.4M | |
| 2015-01-21 | Storm Surge/TideMarshall Islands · forecast zone Marshall Islands | 0 | 0 | $374K |
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 Marshall Islands have the most records?
None of them has a record of its own: NOAA files Marshall Islands's storms for the whole nation, so they are counted on this page, not on its county pages.
Every county in Marshall Islands
Federal disaster declarations in Marshall Islands
FEMA has made 7 declarations for Marshall Islands since 1987: 7 major disasters, 0 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are typhoon (3), drought (1), coastal storm (1).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-03-20 | DR-1210 | Drought | Drought, Crop Losses | 25 |
| 1994-10-06 | DR-1040 | Coastal Storm | High Surf and Wave Action | 1 |
| 1992-12-16 | DR-971 | Typhoon | Typhoon Gay | 11 |
| 1992-02-07 | DR-932 | Flood | Tropical Storm Axel | 6 |
| 1991-12-06 | DR-925 | Typhoon | Typhoon Zelda | 8 |
| 1988-01-16 | DR-809 | Typhoon | Tropical Storm Roy | 1 |
| 1987-04-27 | DR-791 | Fire | Fire | 1 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Compare Marshall Islands with another stateSide by side: storm records per square mile, deaths per million, declarations
- How Marshall Islands ranks among the statesStates ranked by FEMA disaster declarations
- Download Marshall Islands' FEMA declarations (CSV)7 rows: every declaration in the state, for your own analysis