Hazards

Coastal Erosion

Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage.  Coastal erosion and beach loss in Hawai‘i are...

Dam Failure

Dam failure or levee breeches can occur with little warning. Intense storms may produce a flood in a few hours or even minutes for upstream locations. Flash floods occur within six hours of the...

Drought

Drought is defined as a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time, usually a season or more. Droughts are relative to the long-term average or normal balance between...

Earthquake

Earthquakes are sudden, rapid shaking of earth caused by breaking and shifting subterranean rock and release of strain that has accumulated over long periods of time.  Forty-five states and...

Fire

Fire conditions arise from a combination of hot weather, accumulation of vegetation, and low moisture content in air and fuel. These conditions, especially when combined with high winds and years...

Flash Flooding

Hawai’i is at risk of flash flooding. Some floods develop slowly, while others such as flash floods can develop in just a few minutes and without visible signs of rain. Flash floods can occur...

Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT)

HAZMAT include hundreds of substances that pose a significant risk to humans. These substances may be highly toxic, reactive, corrosive, flammable, radioactive, or infectious.  Currently, over...

High Surf

High Surf is a condition of very dangerous and damaging waves ranging in height from 10 to 30 feet or more. These waves result from open ocean swell generated by storms passing far to the north...

Hurricane

A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone or severe tropical storm that forms in the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Hurricanes can cause...

Landslide

The term "landslide" describes a wide variety of processes that result in the downward and outward movement of slope-forming materials including rock, soil, artificial fill, or a combination of...

Pandemic

Pandemics are illnesses that pose a threat to the health of living organisms, primarily that of humans and domesticated animals, including livestock. In humans, these can include seasonal...

Tsunami

A tsunami is a series of waves of extremely long wave length and long period, generated in a body of water by an impulsive disturbance that displaces the water such as an earthquake, landslide,...

Volcano

There are several kinds of events caused by volcanic activity that can be harmful to life and property. These include lava flows, ash falls and debris avalanches.

Magma, which is molten rock that...