FEMA puts Ko Olina’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 94% of U.S. towns, led by river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ko Olina gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (43%), then wildfire (25%). 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 Ko Olina 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
Tsunamis
Earthquakes
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 Ko Olina’s grade
River and rain flooding is 43% of the building damage FEMA expects in Ko Olina, and Ko Olina’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 25%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Ko Olina’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.2M a year in losses across Ko Olina: $2.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Ko Olina flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Ko Olina. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Ko Olina 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 Ko Olina remembers
None of the 18 disasters declared for Honolulu County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Ko Olina 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.
Get ready for what Ko Olina 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Ko Olina
Is Ko Olina at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ko Olina has higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (43%) and wildfire (25%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Ko Olina 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 Ko Olina?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ko Olina’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Ko Olina at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (43%), and Ko Olina’s rate for it is higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ko Olina.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ko Olina’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.