Storms, floods and disasters in Maunaloa
Maunaloa isn’t graded for hazard risk: Maunaloa has 293 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Maunaloa 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.
Does Maunaloa flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Maunaloa. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Maunaloa isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Maui County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Maunaloa
Disasters that paid out in Maunaloa itself (aid to households or repair grants to Maunaloa), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2026Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides10 households applied for aid$76K aid approved
Maui County has had 19 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms.
Also 9 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Maui County, 2006–2025.
Old photos of Maunaloa after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Maunaloa archive →Get ready for what Maunaloa 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 Maunaloa
Is Maunaloa 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 Maui County, 4.8% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Maunaloa?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Maunaloa’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Maunaloa?
By FEMA money that reached Maunaloa, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2026): 10 households applied for aid, $76K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Maunaloa.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Maunaloa’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.