Kauai County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Kauai County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

The National Weather Service sets flood stages for 11 gauges here but lists no crests for them.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

High tide flooding

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Tsunamis

1. Places where NOAA's Global Historical Tsunami Database records a tsunami's water arriving, with the greatest height it reached above sea level at the time. Only tsunamis NOAA rates probable or definite are counted. Heights from eyewitness accounts and tide gauges are mixed, and older events are less completely recorded.

NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (12).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 28, 2020Flash Flood$30.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Kuhio Highway was also closed near the Hanalei Bridge in northern Kauai as the Hanalei River overflowed its banks along the roadway. Later in the morning around 04:30 HST after heavy downpours, Kuhio Highway was closed in Wailua at the Wailua River in windward Kauai as debris piled up against the bridge crossing the waterway. Some homes and businesses in the area were also affected by flooding waters. There were no reports of significant injuries.

2. Mar 9, 2021Flash Flood$30.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain caused the Hanalei River to overflow near the Hanalei Bridge, which then closed Kuhio Highway in that area. Other areas in northern Kauai were affected by downpours that caused debris flows unto roadways, near Princeville, Kilauea, and Wailoko. Other areas that had problems were near Lihue at Niumalu and Hulemalu roads, and in Kapaa where the Keapana Bridge became impassable.

3. Apr 14, 2018Flash Flood$17.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In northern Kauai, Kuhio Highway was closed in Hanalei near the Hanalei Bridge due to flooding as of 1900 HST. Two homes were destroyed on Wainiha Powerhouse Road in Wainiha as of 2000 HST, and at the same time the roadway itself was washed out. At 0130 HST on the 15th, multiple people became trapped in their homes between Hanalei and Haena. Around 0400 HST, guests in the Hanalei Colony Resort in Haena had been moved to the second floor due to rising water. And at 0400 HST, water as high as 8 feet was covering Kuhio Highway in Hanalei and other areas, including submerging many vehicles. Small hail was reported by a member of the public at 0600 HST in Wailua in the eastern part of Kauai.

4. Apr 12, 2024Flash Flood$7.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency managers reported flash flooding along with multiple evacuations in the Wailua area. Additionally a large crane at the Wailua River was leaning on a power line and blocking a road. Several roads were impassable due to flooding. Wailua Bridge southbound lane was closed due to flash flooding.

5. Apr 12, 2024Flash Flood$6.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple Roads in Koloa were impassable and closed due to flooding which was caused by the heavy rainfall. A small landslide was reported near Piko Road. Additionally, Poipu Road and Koloa Road were flooded and water entered storefront properties. There were several evacuations in the area.

6. Mar 6, 2021Debris Flow$3.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rocks and soil caused the closure of one lane of Kuhio Highway at mile marker 4.5, near Waikoko on Kauai's north shore.

7. Aug 28, 2018Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding waters on Kuhio Highway closed the roadway near the Hanalei Bridge in the northern part of Kauai. One fatality occurred when a man jumped into the swollen Waikomo Stream to try to save a dog.

8. Mar 3, 1996High Wind, Kauai Mountains$600,000
9. Feb 17, 1996High Surf, Kauai Mountains$230,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A stationary storm over the northeast Pacific centered 1,200 miles north-northeast of Hawaii, generated large north swells that caused high surf and surges for Hilo Harbor. The U.S.C.G. Cutter Kiska sustained $100,000 in damage while moored in the Radio Bay area of Hilo Harbor. According to the commanding officer, extreme surging action developed as large waves filled the mooring area. Wave heights of 15 to 20 feet occurred outside Hilo Harbor and 6 to 10 feet inside the harbor. Ocean front streets were closed in Hilo and several lower units of a condominium were flooded in Keaukaha, 3 miles southeast of Hilo. Cars were damaged in the flooded parking lots of two condominium buildings.

10. Jan 11, 1996High Surf, Kauai Mountains$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An intense storm over the north Pacific generated large swell which produced high surf ranging from 10 to 20 feet. Heavy beach erosion occurred along the north shore of Oahu. Many county and state beach parks were closed along the Kona Coast of the Island of Hawaii and the road pavement was washed away from the road surface of Alii Drive in Kailua Kona.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tsunamis NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.