On FEMA’s figures, Omao faces more hazard damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Omao gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%), then wildfire (21%). 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 Omao 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
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 Omao’s grade
River and rain flooding is 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Omao, and Omao’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 21%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Omao’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $917K a year in losses across Omao: $784K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Omao flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Omao. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Omao isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Kauai County.The storms Omao remembers
None of the 15 disasters declared for Kauai County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Omao itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Kauai County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms.
Omao and its neighbors
Omao is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
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 Omao 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.
- 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 Omao
Is Omao at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Omao has higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%) and wildfire (21%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Omao 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 Kauai County, 7.0% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Omao?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Omao’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Omao at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Omao’s rate for it is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Omao.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Omao’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.