Most Oʻahu residents don’t have flood insurance, city survey finds

Only one in five Oʻahu residents have flood insurance, according to a recent survey conducted by the City and County of Honolulu.

The city asked more than 1,000 residents about flood insurance to understand risk awareness on the island. The report found that 82% of those surveyed have homeowners insurance and 61% have hurricane insurance. However, only 21% have flood insurance.

One-third of the surveyed residents said they had actually experienced flooding.

“We heard directly from the community that they are concerned about flooding and want to know more about flood insurance and other ways to mitigate their risk,” said Sarah Harris, hazard mitigation and disaster recovery program manager of the Mayor’s Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency.

“Thanks to funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Cooperating Technical Partnership Program, we are excited to turn the community’s input into action by creating long-standing, targeted educational resources,” she added.

The city said a “vast majority” of participants are not aware of the gaps in coverage between flood and other types of insurance.

Only 20% of residents knew that homeowners and renters insurance do not cover flood damage and that hurricane insurance does not cover standing water caused by storms.

The report also found that most homeowners haven’t taken steps to prepare their homes for potential flooding, including safely storing electronics and valuable property, as well as installing and cleaning their roof gutters.