Counties with the most emergency shelters in Maryland
Counties with the most emergency shelters in Maryland
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 Maryland. Counties are ranked by emergency shelters per 100K people, with total capacity per 100K people serving as a tiebreaker.

#21. Anne Arundel County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 484,634 people (2,830,572 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 3
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#20. Baltimore city
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 772,375 people (4,574,088 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#19. Carroll County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 754,672 people (1,299,152 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#18. Calvert County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 885,537 people (819,255 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#17. Howard County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 893,007 people (2,940,208 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#16. Charles County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 1,342,281 people (2,217,569 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#15. Harford County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 1,308,420 people (3,390,927 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#14. Montgomery County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 577,368 people (6,103,937 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 25
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 4
#13. Baltimore County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 1,970,670 people (16,764,527 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#12. Frederick County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 1,561,558 people (4,177,137 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 9
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. Washington County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 2,200,023 people (3,387,068 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. Caroline County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 4,488,166 people (1,491,597 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#9. Cecil County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 4,801,322 people (4,963,127 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 12
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#8. Talbot County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 5,529,480 people (2,074,108 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0

#7. Wicomico County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 6,937,272 people (7,160,860 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 5
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#6. Kent County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 7,717,911 people (1,492,258 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#5. Dorchester County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 8,964,117 people (2,912,083 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#4. Worcester County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 9,893,905 people (5,176,689 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 4

#3. Allegany County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 9,273,505 people (6,369,414 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 8
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#2. Garrett County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 11,939,247 people (3,457,009 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 7
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#1. Somerset County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 11,689,873 people (2,903,063 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 2