Environmental Rules in Hawaii County, HI (2026)

Flood Zones

Hawaii County (the Big Island) is the only U.S. NFIP community where parcels can simultaneously sit in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, a USGS lava-flow hazard zone, and a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency tsunami evacuation zone. Floodplain development is governed by Hawaii County Code Chapter 27 (Floodplain Management), administered by the Department of Public Works Engineering Division. The county requires a Flood Development Permit for any work in a Special Flood Hazard Area and imposes a 1-foot freeboard above the Base Flood Elevation, exceeding the federal NFIP minimum. Hawaii County is a CRS-participating community providing flood insurance discounts on the roughly 4,400 NFIP policies countywide. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory lava flow hazard Zones 1 and 2 cover much of Puna, Kau, and South Kona, and Zone 1 properties (active rift zones of Kilauea and Mauna Loa) are typically uninsurable for lava and difficult to mortgage.