Wheeler Field · Photo: Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Rebecca J. Moat · Public domainFEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Wheeler AFB than in 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wheeler AFB gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). 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 Wheeler AFB 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
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 Wheeler AFB’s grade
River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Wheeler AFB, and Wheeler AFB’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 2%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Wheeler AFB’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $819K a year in losses across Wheeler AFB: $766K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Wheeler AFB flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Wheeler AFB. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Wheeler AFB 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 Wheeler AFB remembers
None of the 18 disasters declared for Honolulu County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Wheeler AFB 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.
Wheeler AFB and its neighbors
Wheeler AFB is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wahiawa | C−more damage than 85% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Wheeler AFB | Dmore damage than 90% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Schofield Barracks | Dmore damage than 91% | 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 Wheeler AFB 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.
- 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 Wheeler AFB
Is Wheeler AFB at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wheeler AFB has higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%) and earthquakes (7%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Wheeler AFB 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 Wheeler AFB?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Wheeler AFB’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Wheeler AFB at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Wheeler AFB’s rate for it is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wheeler AFB.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Wheeler AFB’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.