Counties with the most emergency shelters in Montana
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 Montana. 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. Roosevelt County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#49. Dawson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#48. Lake County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#47. Phillips County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#46. Cascade County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#45. Sheridan County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#44. Gallatin County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#43. Missoula County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#42. Lewis and Clark County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#41. Richland County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#40. Toole County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#39. Ravalli County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#38. Yellowstone County
- Shelters listed with generators: 7
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#37. Liberty County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#36. Judith Basin County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#35. Chouteau County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#34. Meagher County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#33. Flathead County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#32. Hill County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#31. Silver Bow County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#30. Broadwater County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#29. Lincoln County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#28. Jefferson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#27. Stillwater County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#26. Prairie County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#25. Madison County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#24. Custer County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 3
#23. Deer Lodge County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#22. Glacier County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#21. Fallon County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#20. Pondera County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#19. Powell County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#18. Valley County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#17. Sanders County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#16. Big Horn County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#15. Treasure County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#14. Musselshell County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#13. Park County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 4
#12. Blaine County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. Powder River County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. Rosebud County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 3
#9. Teton County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#8. Mineral County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#7. Garfield County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#6. Carbon County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 3
#5. Petroleum County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#4. Sweet Grass County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#3. Granite County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#2. Beaverhead County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#1. Golden Valley County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0