Counties with the most emergency shelters in Idaho
As climate change drives weather to greater extremes, and devastating hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, and blizzards preoccupy an increasing number of Americans, it is hard to avoid comparing the reality of everyday news coverage to the computer-generated images seen in disaster movies.
Over the last 50 years, natural disasters have become five times more common due to climate change, according to the World Meteorological Organization. They've also become more economically debilitating—the five most expensive climate disasters in American history have all taken place over the last two decades.
The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters means that the need for emergency evacuation and shelter plans has never been greater. According to the Federal Emergency Management Association, understanding your climate risk, or proximity to probable natural disaster, is an important first step for making a plan. Tools like the Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation allow you to assess your risk by location.
Knowing where nearby emergency shelters are located is another way to prepare for the worst. In the event of flooding, hurricane-level winds, or other disasters, emergency shelters offer a place to sleep, and also often provide food, water, and first aid services. Stacker examined the Department of Homeland Security's National Shelter System Facilities database to identify the counties with the most emergency shelters in Idaho. Counties are ranked by emergency shelters per 100K people, with total capacity per 100K people serving as a tiebreaker.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the total emergency shelter capacity in each county. Due to the variable availability of that data for each shelter, the data point has been removed from the updated version.
#41. Payette County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#40. Cassia County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#39. Bonneville County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#38. Canyon County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#37. Owyhee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#36. Madison County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#35. Gem County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#34. Bingham County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#33. Power County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#32. Franklin County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#31. Caribou County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#30. Fremont County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#29. Lincoln County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#28. Ada County
- Shelters listed with generators: 7
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#27. Bannock County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#26. Oneida County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#25. Lemhi County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#24. Lewis County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#23. Bear Lake County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#22. Gooding County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#21. Jerome County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#20. Kootenai County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#19. Jefferson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#18. Washington County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#17. Blaine County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#16. Benewah County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#15. Bonner County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#14. Elmore County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#13. Latah County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#12. Twin Falls County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. Clearwater County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. Nez Perce County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#9. Adams County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#8. Teton County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#7. Idaho County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#6. Boundary County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#5. Custer County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#4. Valley County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#3. Shoshone County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#2. Boise County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#1. Camas County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2