Photo: The Eloquent Peasant · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Kalaeloa faces more hazard damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Kalaeloa gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns, #22 of 93 in Hawaii. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (55%), then wildfire (23%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Kalaeloa faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Tsunamis
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Kalaeloa’s grade
River and rain flooding is 55% of the building damage FEMA expects in Kalaeloa, and Kalaeloa’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 23%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D #22 of 93 in Hawaii; higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Kalaeloa’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Hawaii town has higher expected damage than 96% of U.S. towns; within the state, Kalaeloa has less expected damage per building than 77% of Hawaii towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.3M a year in losses across Kalaeloa: $2.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Kalaeloa flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Kalaeloa. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Kalaeloa isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Honolulu County.The storms Kalaeloa remembers
None of the 18 disasters declared for Honolulu County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Kalaeloa itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Honolulu County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.
Also 4 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Honolulu County, 2005–2025.
Kalaeloa and its neighbors
Kalaeloa has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kalaeloa | Dmore damage than 90% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Kapolei | D−more damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Ewa Villages | D−more damage than 97% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Ewa Gentry | D−among the highest damage | river and rain flooding | — |
| Ocean Pointe | D−among the highest damage | river and rain flooding | — |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Kalaeloa faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Strong shaking or a sudden drop in the sea means head for high ground now.
- Learn the tsunami route signs near the shore.
- Stay away until officials say it’s safe.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Kalaeloa
Is Kalaeloa at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Kalaeloa has higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #22 of 93 in Hawaii. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (55%) and wildfire (23%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Kalaeloa in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Honolulu County, 54% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 4.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Kalaeloa?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Kalaeloa’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Kalaeloa at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (55%), and Kalaeloa’s rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Kalaeloa.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Kalaeloa’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.