Counties with the most emergency shelters in Mississippi
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 Mississippi. 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. Claiborne County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#49. Alcorn County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#48. Holmes County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#47. Lauderdale County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#46. Humphreys County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#45. Adams County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#44. Leake County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#43. Copiah County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#42. Walthall County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#41. Lee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#40. Tallahatchie County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#39. Yalobusha County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#38. Clay County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#37. Forrest County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#36. Winston County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#35. Tippah County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#34. George County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#33. Smith County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#32. Jones County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#31. Stone County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#30. Pike County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#29. Calhoun County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#28. Leflore County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#27. Lawrence County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#26. Pearl River County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#25. Jefferson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#24. Lincoln County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#23. Quitman County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#22. Clarke County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#21. Prentiss County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#20. Wilkinson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#19. Jefferson Davis County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#18. Wayne County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#17. Greene County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#16. Bolivar County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#15. Franklin County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#14. Benton County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#13. Tunica County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#12. Chickasaw County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. Tishomingo County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. Perry County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#9. Attala County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#8. Covington County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#7. Marion County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#6. Webster County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#5. Lowndes County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#4. Jasper County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#3. Union County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#2. Monroe County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#1. Noxubee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0