Reading live alerts…

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What is active right now

Grouped by kind of hazard. A solid tag means conditions are expected; an outlined tag means possible; a dotted tag is an advisory or statement.

By island

Every Hawaiʻi forecast zone, grouped into the four counties. Open one to see each alert and who it covers.

Working out which island you are on…

Earth and ocean

Hazards that have nothing to do with the weather. Straight from the USGS — earthquakes in the last 24 hours, and the volcano alert level whenever Kīlauea or Mauna Loa sits above normal.

County operations

Live from Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense. Shelter status, capacity and road closures update themselves — this is the county's own operational data, not a copy.

Look at it yourself

Radar and satellite straight from NOAA. There is no radar on Oʻahu — the Molokaʻi site covers it.

Ready before it matters

The same short list covers a hurricane, a flash flood, a wildfire and a tsunami. Do it once and it keeps.

Two weeks of water, not three daysHawaiʻi is the most isolated population on earth. Federal guidance assumes trucks arrive; here they arrive by ship. One gallon per person per day is the state standard.

Know your zone before you need itTsunami evacuation zone, flood zone, and whether your road is the kind that gets cut. Look it up on a calm day — the maps are slow to load when everyone opens them at once.

Sign up for county alertsThis page reads the weather service. Only your county can tell you about evacuations, shelter openings and road closures. Links are at the bottom.

A radio that runs without the gridCell towers hold on backup batteries for hours, not days. Battery or hand-crank, and write your island's frequencies on paper.

Photograph the house nowEvery room, the roofline, serial numbers. Five minutes today is worth a great deal to an insurance adjuster later.

Check your deductibleHurricane deductibles in Hawaiʻi are a percentage of dwelling coverage, not a flat sum, and flood is a separate policy most people do not have. Find out which you hold before a storm is named.

What the words mean

These decide whether you act today or keep watching.

WatchPossible: Conditions are possible, usually within 48 hours. This is your window to act — the shops still have water and the roads are still open.
WarningExpected: Conditions are expected, usually within 36 hours. Preparation should already be done.
AdvisoryLess severe: Conditions are expected but below warning level. Inconvenient and occasionally dangerous — not life-threatening on its own.
Flash floodThe local killer: The hazard that causes the most deaths in Hawaiʻi storms, and it strikes far from any storm centre. Streams rise in minutes. Never drive through moving water.
Terrain effectWhy forecasts read low: Wind atop ridges and on windward slopes runs up to 30% stronger than the forecast figure, sometimes more. If you live above the valley floor, add to every number you see.
Brown waterAfter the rain: Runoff carries cesspool overflow and leptospirosis into the ocean and streams. Health guidance is to stay out for 48–72 hours after rain stops — clearing water is misleading, because dirt settles faster than bacteria.

Official channels

This page is not one of them. If anything here disagrees with the sources below, believe them.

Hawaiʻi Emergency Management

Statewide

National Weather Service

Honolulu forecast office

Hawaiʻi County

Civil Defense · (808) 935-0031

Maui County

MEMA · (808) 270-7285

City and County of Honolulu

DEM · (808) 723-8960

Kauaʻi County

KEMA · (808) 241-1800

Health after a storm

Department of Health

Brown water advisories

Insurance and recovery

DCCA · 1-844-808-3222