Kaunakakai, HI Flooding & Climate Risk Profile
The primary drivers of climate-related financial risk in Kaunakakai, HI are Inland Flooding, Tsunami, and Earthquake. This area also faces an unusually high intensity for Wildfire, Coastal Flooding, Lightning, Landslide, and Volcanic Activity compared to national averages.
Based on FEMA EAL and hazard intensity.
Spatial Analysis
Flood Plain Analysis
Significant Flood Exposure in Kaunakakai
FEMA Flood Maps for Kaunakakai identify the "100-year" and "500-year" floodplains (1% and 0.2% annual chance), but modern climate risk analysis suggests that nearly 25% of flood insurance claims originate from properties outside of these designated high-risk zones.
Primary Risks
Inland Flooding
Expected Annual Loss for Kaunakakai
Very High compared to US average
Tsunami
Expected Annual Loss for Kaunakakai
Relatively Moderate compared to US average
Earthquake
Expected Annual Loss for Kaunakakai
Relatively Moderate compared to US average
Financial Risk Inventory
Recommended Mitigation Strategies
Recommended investments to protect your property value and reduce insurance liability based on your local risk profile.
Inland Flooding Mitigation
Install a smart sump pump with battery backup and extend downspouts 10ft from foundation.
Tsunami Mitigation
General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.
Earthquake Mitigation
General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.
Wildfire Mitigation
Create a 5ft 'non-combustible' zone around your home using gravel or pavers instead of mulch.
Coastal Flooding Mitigation
General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.
Lightning Mitigation
General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.
Hurricane Mitigation
Install permanent hurricane shutters or upgrade to impact-resistant windows.
Landslide Mitigation
Professional slope stabilization and foundation drainage inspection is highly recommended.
Volcanic Activity Mitigation
General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.
Drought Mitigation
General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.
Sources and Methodology
Spatial Climate Risk Modeling
The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) and hazard risk scores are derived from the FEMA NRI zip code dataset using a population-weighted spatial join. Because Zip Codes and Census Tracts do not share perfectly aligned boundaries, we utilize US Census Block Group population centroids to identify where residents actually live.
Financial & Insurance Metrics
The pysical resilence score is calculated by synthesizing Expected Annual Loss (EAL) against the total building replacement value within a jurisdiction. This creates a "Loss Ratio" that measures physical resilience. We supplement this with ZIP-code level data from the U.S. Treasury's Federal Insurance Office (FIO), monitoring trends in premium growth, loss ratios, and policy non-renewals to identify emerging "Insurance Deserts."
Primary Data Sources
- FEMA National Flood Hazard LayerHigh-resolution vector data for 100-year and 500-year flood zones.
- U.S. Department of the TreasuryFIO ZIP-code level insurance data (2018–2022 Historical Set).
- FEMA National Risk IndexBaseline hazard frequency and economic loss data (v1.20.0).
- U.S. Census BureauTIGER/Line 2025 Shapefiles & Decennial Population Statistics.