Hawaii: The Storm-Ready Checklist

Shelter & mitigation money

No dedicated state-run storm-shelter rebate or grant program is listed for Hawaii in the mitigation data reviewed for this page. Check with the state emergency management agency below for anything new.

NAIC lists Hawaii among the 19 states plus DC with a separate hurricane or named-storm deductible in homeowner policies as of June 2025 (content.naic.org/insurance-topics/hurricane-deductibles).

Who to call, before and after

The hazards Hawaii actually faces

• Wildfire

  Peak season: Aug

  Wildfire risk to a home is decided mostly in the first five feet around the structure — the "home ignition zone" — where embers carried well ahead of the flame front land on roofs, gutters, and anything flammable pressed against the wall. A go-bag and a named evacuation trigger matter because wildfire evacuation orders can arrive with far less notice than a hurricane or even a tornado watch.

• Extreme rainfall and flash flood

  Peak season: Aug–Jan

  Flash flooding is the deadliest hazard tied to rainfall, and most of those deaths are people driving into water they underestimated — six inches of moving water can stall a car, twelve can float one. Rainfall intensity, not just total inches, is what overwhelms storm drains and low-lying roads in a window of an hour or less.

• Riverine and coastal flooding

  Peak season: Feb

  Riverine and coastal flooding move on a slower clock than flash flooding — hours to days instead of minutes — which is exactly why households underprepare for it. Flood damage is excluded from standard homeowners' policies almost everywhere, so the financial exposure is separate from the physical one, and it is worth checking before, not after, the water rises.

Frequently asked