A flood claim goes to your NFIP or private flood carrier, not to your homeowners insurer — they are separate policies and a homeowners claim will be denied for flood water. Report it the day you find it. NFIP requires a signed Proof of Loss, normally within 60 days of the loss, and the documentation you gather in the first hours is what it is built from: video of every affected room before anything is moved, photographs of the high-water line, a list of damaged contents with what you paid, and receipts for emergency mitigation.
Hawaii homeowners should verify their policy explicitly covers hurricane-driven rain intrusion and storm surge damage, as many policies issued in Hawaii after the dissolution of the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund in 2002 contain wind-driven rain exclusions that can leave coastal and Pearl Harbor-adjacent claims partially or fully unpaid. Mitigation is not optional — every policy requires you to stop further damage, so drying starts before the adjuster arrives, and you keep the invoices.
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