Counties with the most emergency shelters in Michigan
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 Michigan. 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. Ontonagon County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#49. Menominee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#48. Charlevoix County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#47. Livingston County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#46. Monroe County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#45. Calhoun County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#44. Chippewa County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#43. Crawford County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#42. Ottawa County
- Shelters listed with generators: 15
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#41. Grand Traverse County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#40. Bay County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#39. Wexford County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#38. Gladwin County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#37. Sanilac County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#36. Kalkaska County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#35. Clinton County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 3
#34. Newaygo County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#33. Manistee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#32. Ogemaw County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#31. Jackson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#30. Oscoda County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#29. Berrien County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#28. Iosco County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#27. Tuscola County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#26. Missaukee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#25. Shiawassee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 4
#24. Cheboygan County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#23. Lenawee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#22. Benzie County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#21. Cass County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#20. Hillsdale County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#19. Mecosta County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#18. Roscommon County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#17. Van Buren County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#16. Presque Isle County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#15. Gratiot County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#14. Luce County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#13. Mason County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#12. Alpena County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. Leelanau County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. Antrim County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#9. Oceana County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#8. Huron County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#7. Midland County
- Shelters listed with generators: 12
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#6. Mackinac County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#5. Montmorency County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#4. Alcona County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#3. Osceola County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#2. Lake County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#1. Arenac County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1