Counties with the most emergency shelters in Illinois
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 Illinois. 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.
#50. Adams County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#49. Menard County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#48. Logan County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#47. Edgar County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#46. Randolph County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#45. Montgomery County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#44. Grundy County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#43. Macoupin County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#42. Clay County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#41. Morgan County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#40. Pike County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#39. Johnson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#38. Henry County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#37. Marion County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#36. Vermilion County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#35. Jefferson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#34. Christian County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#33. Calhoun County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#32. Williamson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#31. Jackson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#30. Kankakee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#29. Tazewell County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#28. Union County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#27. Mercer County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#26. Peoria County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#25. Knox County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#24. Stephenson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#23. Crawford County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#22. Perry County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#21. Hardin County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#20. Lee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#19. Woodford County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#18. Fulton County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#17. Saline County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#16. Lawrence County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#15. Warren County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#14. Monroe County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#13. Massac County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#12. Richland County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. Wabash County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. Douglas County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#9. Putnam County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#8. Pulaski County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#7. Piatt County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#6. Edwards County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#5. Pope County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#4. Mason County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#3. Alexander County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 3
#2. Marshall County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#1. Stark County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0