Counties with the most emergency shelters in Minnesota
Counties with the most emergency shelters in Minnesota
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 Minnesota. Counties are ranked by emergency shelters per 100K people, with total capacity per 100K people serving as a tiebreaker.
#50. Blue Earth County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 5,171,764 people (3,546,537 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 4
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#49. Cass County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 7,718,027 people (2,309,002 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#48. Rice County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 14,517,664 people (9,697,074 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#47. Crow Wing County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 10,360,846 people (6,825,622 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#46. McLeod County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 10,644,517 people (3,902,493 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#45. Sibley County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 11,857,439 people (1,772,450 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#44. Mower County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 6,597,447 people (2,637,989 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#43. Chippewa County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 9,135,255 people (1,142,729 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#42. Otter Tail County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 15,868,032 people (9,477,658 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#41. Clay County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 15,612,837 people (10,144,441 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 4
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 1
#40. Cottonwood County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 18,182,672 people (2,088,098 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#39. Beltrami County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 9,480,040 people (4,363,947 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 3
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#38. Douglas County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 9,010,353 people (3,490,791 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#37. Houston County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 16,141,779 people (3,035,623 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 1
#36. Pine County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 12,330,369 people (3,575,437 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#35. Mille Lacs County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 11,536,580 people (3,045,311 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#34. Freeborn County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 10,638,401 people (3,285,351 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#33. Norman County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 21,562,785 people (1,401,581 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 1
#32. Watonwan County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 13,477,172 people (1,512,543 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#31. Pipestone County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 22,411,451 people (2,099,953 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#30. Nicollet County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 9,327,444 people (3,198,847 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#29. Dodge County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 23,114,525 people (4,807,359 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#28. Kandiyohi County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 12,667,557 people (5,510,894 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#27. Roseau County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 21,738,999 people (3,330,632 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#26. Lac qui Parle County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 15,328,772 people (1,035,152 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#25. Renville County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 8,485,211 people (1,253,096 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#24. Lyon County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 20,584,833 people (5,244,398 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#23. Brown County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 13,486,449 people (3,492,181 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#22. Carlton County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 13,871,008 people (5,013,676 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#21. Big Stone County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 13,272,900 people (684,218 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#20. Steele County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 28,479,820 people (10,640,915 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#19. Wabasha County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 27,829,680 people (5,962,509 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#18. Itasca County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 18,266,988 people (8,214,482 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 1
#17. Hubbard County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 22,517,018 people (4,777,886 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#16. Polk County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 15,137,671 people (4,738,545 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#15. Clearwater County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 27,183,155 people (2,317,364 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#14. Aitkin County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 16,196,139 people (2,550,406 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#13. Fillmore County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 37,358,445 people (7,912,145 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#12. Martin County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 38,626,388 people (7,752,316 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. Lake County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 21,196,797 people (2,296,673 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. Swift County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 24,842,813 people (2,437,080 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#9. Winona County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 18,912,077 people (9,435,046 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#8. Wilkin County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 39,620,600 people (2,573,358 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 1
#7. Lincoln County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 34,858,320 people (1,971,238 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#6. Koochiching County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 19,518,946 people (2,381,897 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#5. Lake of the Woods County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 56,163,082 people (2,110,047 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#4. Waseca County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 26,536,870 people (5,034,575 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#3. Cook County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 37,290,761 people (2,078,587 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#2. Kittson County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 38,216,592 people (1,610,065 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#1. Marshall County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 71,673,706 people (6,509,406 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0