Counties with the most emergency shelters in Indiana

Written by:
January 20, 2023
Chris Light // Wikimedia Commons

Counties with the most emergency shelters in Indiana

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 Indiana. 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.

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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#50. Sullivan County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 33.6 (7 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Diego Delso // Wikimedia Commons

#49. Allen County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 34.3 (131 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 30
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#48. Randolph County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 36.5 (9 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Calvin Beale // Wikimedia Commons

#47. Owen County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 37.6 (8 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Derek Jensen // Wikimedia Commons

#46. Fulton County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 39.2 (8 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#45. Warrick County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 39.3 (25 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Paul J Everett // Wikimedia Commons

#44. Clinton County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 39.4 (13 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Chris Light // Wikimedia Commons

#43. Pulaski County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 40.0 (5 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Paul J Everett // Wikimedia Commons

#42. Boone County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 40.1 (28 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Derek Jensen // Wikimedia Commons

#41. Adams County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 42.0 (15 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#40. Madison County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 42.3 (55 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 8
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Warren LeMay from Cullowhee, NC, United States // Wikimedia Commons

#39. Dearborn County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 45.5 (23 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Randella // Wikimedia Commons

#38. Vanderburgh County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 45.6 (82 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 3
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Warren LeMay from Cullowhee, NC, United States // Wikimedia Commons

#37. Fayette County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 47.0 (11 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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#36. Kosciusko County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 48.7 (39 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 12
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
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Chris Light // Wikimedia Commons

#35. Grant County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 49.4 (33 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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#34. Cass County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 50.1 (19 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Calvin Beale // Wikimedia Commons

#33. Noble County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 50.7 (24 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 7
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Publichall // Wikimedia Commons

#32. Henry County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 51.2 (25 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#31. Wells County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 53.4 (15 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
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Daniel Schwen // Wikimedia Commons

#30. Parke County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 55.2 (9 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Rapierce // Wikimedia Commons

#29. Howard County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 60.0 (50 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Rhatsa26X // Wikimedia Commons

#28. Gibson County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 60.6 (20 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Derek Jensen // Wikimedia Commons

#27. Miami County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 60.9 (22 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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#26. Knox County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 63.3 (23 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#25. Vermillion County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 64.6 (10 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Matt Ruddick // Wikimedia Commons

#24. Delaware County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 64.9 (73 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Warren LeMay from Cullowhee, NC, United States // Wikimedia Commons

#23. Ohio County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 67.4 (4 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Publichall // Wikimedia Commons

#22. Carroll County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 69.0 (14 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#21. Spencer County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 70.2 (14 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Derek Jensen // Wikimedia Commons

#20. Marshall County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 71.5 (33 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Derek Jensen // Wikimedia Commons

#19. Tipton County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 71.9 (11 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Kmweber // Wikimedia Commons

#18. Posey County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 75.1 (19 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 3
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Tysto // Wikimedia Commons

#17. Whitley County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 76.4 (26 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Huw Williams (Huwmanbeing) // Wikimedia Commons

#16. White County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 77.3 (19 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#15. Benton County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 80.6 (7 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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W.marsh // Wikimedia Commons

#14. Harrison County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 81.0 (32 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Warren LeMay from Cullowhee, NC, United States // Wikimedia Commons

#13. Jefferson County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 81.8 (27 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Cwebb1996 // Wikimedia Commons

#12. Montgomery County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 86.9 (33 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#11. Greene County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 87.3 (27 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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MrHarman // Wikimedia Commons

#10. Steuben County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 90.2 (31 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#9. Fountain County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 91.3 (15 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Brian Stansberry // Wikimedia Commons

#8. Warren County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 94.9 (8 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#7. Perry County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 104.4 (20 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#6. Crawford County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 114.2 (12 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#5. Pike County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 114.6 (14 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#4. Blackford County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 115.3 (14 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Nyttend // Wikimedia Commons

#3. Huntington County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 117.6 (43 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Cool10191 // Wikimedia Commons

#2. Dubois County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 133.4 (58 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
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Chris Light // Wikimedia Commons

#1. Jay County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 257.7 (53 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

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