Counties with the most emergency shelters in New York
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 New York. 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. Monroe County
- Shelters listed with generators: 61
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#49. Erie County
- Shelters listed with generators: 61
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#48. Madison County
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#47. Onondaga County
- Shelters listed with generators: 15
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#46. Oswego County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#45. Otsego County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#44. Westchester County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#43. Albany County
- Shelters listed with generators: 15
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 3
#42. Oneida County
- Shelters listed with generators: 21
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#41. Tompkins County
- Shelters listed with generators: 14
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#40. Greene County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#39. Cayuga County
- Shelters listed with generators: 15
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#38. Schenectady County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#37. Yates County
- Shelters listed with generators: 7
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#36. Dutchess County
- Shelters listed with generators: 15
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#35. Genesee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 11
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#34. Jefferson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 10
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#33. Ontario County
- Shelters listed with generators: 8
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#32. Niagara County
- Shelters listed with generators: 54
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#31. Lewis County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#30. Rensselaer County
- Shelters listed with generators: 14
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#29. Cattaraugus County
- Shelters listed with generators: 15
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#28. Wyoming County
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#27. Sullivan County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#26. Chautauqua County
- Shelters listed with generators: 33
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#25. Livingston County
- Shelters listed with generators: 12
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#24. Broome County
- Shelters listed with generators: 27
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#23. Saratoga County
- Shelters listed with generators: 24
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#22. Herkimer County
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#21. Tioga County
- Shelters listed with generators: 10
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#20. Columbia County
- Shelters listed with generators: 10
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#19. Warren County
- Shelters listed with generators: 8
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#18. Wayne County
- Shelters listed with generators: 23
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#17. Orleans County
- Shelters listed with generators: 14
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#16. Chenango County
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#15. Allegany County
- Shelters listed with generators: 11
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#14. Cortland County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 4
#13. Fulton County
- Shelters listed with generators: 9
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#12. Seneca County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. Essex County
- Shelters listed with generators: 13
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. Steuben County
- Shelters listed with generators: 7
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 5
#9. Franklin County
- Shelters listed with generators: 23
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#8. Clinton County
- Shelters listed with generators: 25
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#7. Montgomery County
- Shelters listed with generators: 9
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#6. Washington County
- Shelters listed with generators: 13
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#5. Schuyler County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#4. Schoharie County
- Shelters listed with generators: 11
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#3. Delaware County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 3
#2. Chemung County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#1. Hamilton County
- Shelters listed with generators: 8
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0