Question: Regarding the new flood map, will I be notified if I must get flood insurance? I have no idea how to read/operate that map.
Answer: Yes, after Oahu’s revised Flood Insurance Rate Map is finalized, likely in 2026, owners with property newly mapped into a Special Flood Hazard Area will be notified by their mortgage lender if they must buy flood insurance, according to the city. But don’t wait to learn the proposed rating for your property. Vital preliminary information is available now and appeals will be decided before the new FIRM takes effect, according to the timeline on the website of Honolulu’s Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency.
So try the map tool again, via resilientoahu.org/getfloodready Opens in a new tab. Click on the blue button that says “View Preliminary FIRM Map” and input your Oahu property address or TMK (tax map key). Even without using the slider tool, you should be able to click on the image of your property and see its current flood risk zone and the preliminary zone in the proposed new FIRM.
If you can’t access the details, you can ask the Federal Emergency Management Agency Mapping and Insurance eXchange about specific properties, the city says. Call 877-336-2627 Monday through Friday from 2 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hawaii time, or email FEMA-FMIX@fema.dhs.gov.
FEMA has been working on these updates since 2019, conducting the O‘ahu Flood Hazard Restudy to assess risks, including along numerous streams that it had not previously analyzed. The preliminary FIRM therefore classifies many Oahu properties as more likely to flood than previously known, which may require some owners to buy flood insurance or pay higher premiums if they already have it, according to the Resilience Office. Conversely, other areas are newly classified as low risk, which could make flood insurance more affordable.
Officials from FEMA, the city and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources will provide information and answer questions at two public events next month. All Oahu property owners are encouraged to attend, especially those whose homes or businesses are to be classified within a Special Flood Hazard Area for the first time.
>> Online: Nov. 4, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Preregister at 808ne.ws/3Uh364N Opens in a new tab, after which you’ll receive a nonshareable link via email to click into the webinar, which will be recorded and later posted online.
>> In-person: Nov. 6, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center, 777 Ward Ave., in the Hawaii Suites on the first floor.
Oahu’s preliminary FIRM includes:
>> Zones A, AE, AEF, AH, AO, V and VE: These Special Flood Hazard Areas are regulated by the city and are considered by FEMA to have higher risk of flooding or flood-related erosion. In SFHAs, flood insurance is mandatory for properties with a federally backed loan or mortgage. In addition, new development and some redevelopment in SFHAs must comply with Revised Ordinances of Honolulu Chapter 21A: Flood Hazard Areas, 808ne.ws/3YaEege Opens in a new tab, which imposes construction standards.
>> Zone X: Not regulated by the city and considered by FEMA to have low flood risk.
>> Zone D: Not regulated by the city and has an undetermined flood risk.
Standard homeowner’s or renter’s insurance typically doesn’t cover flood damage. Coverage is available through FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program. Oahu residents participating in NFIP filed more than 360 claims between 2018 and 2023, totaling over $27.4 million in losses and damage, according to the Resilience Office website.
Q: Auwe! Is anybody keeping track of e-bike crashes? Now they have the ones with real fat tires and some are still zooming on the sidewalk, a threat to pedestrians. I saw a guy get hit but he waved me off. I should have called 911.
A: There have been at least 180 crashes involving electric bicycles on Oahu since January, according to a media advisory Friday, which cited data from the Honolulu Emergency Services Department. The advisory was about the city’s e-bike working group, which will provide an update Tuesday to the Honolulu City Council’s Transportation Committee during a public meeting set to start at 2:30 p.m. at Honolulu Hale. The working group was formed to help perfect Bill 52, a measure modeled on national standards regulating electric bicycles.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
