
Counties with the most emergency shelters in North Carolina
Counties with the most emergency shelters in North Carolina
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 North Carolina. Counties are ranked by emergency shelters per 100K people, with total capacity per 100K people serving as a tiebreaker.
#50. Stanly County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 6,698,838 people (4,163,194 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 4
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#49. Camden County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 6,907,959 people (715,181 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 2
#48. Greene County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 5,863,906 people (1,203,508 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#47. Pender County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 5,031,035 people (3,016,810 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 6
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#46. Halifax County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 5,312,810 people (2,618,737 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0

#45. Haywood County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 7,049,208 people (4,349,009 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#44. Nash County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 5,835,264 people (5,521,794 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0

#43. Hyde County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 7,588,908 people (356,451 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#42. Jones County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 5,902,348 people (550,453 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0

#41. Dare County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 6,675,987 people (2,451,289 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 3
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 2

#40. Catawba County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 4,972,921 people (7,949,313 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 3
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0

#39. Buncombe County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 5,915,037 people (15,792,024 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 3
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#38. Surry County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 5,492,486 people (3,923,777 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#37. Columbus County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 6,507,563 people (3,349,703 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#36. Polk County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 6,444,620 people (1,251,094 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 1
#35. Edgecombe County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 8,793,336 people (4,362,286 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 1
#34. Warren County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 4,858,992 people (917,815 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0

#33. Beaufort County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 5,574,311 people (2,502,754 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#32. Henderson County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 8,136,159 people (9,406,457 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 13
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#31. Sampson County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 7,289,031 people (4,334,641 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 2

#30. Yancey County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 9,627,815 people (1,767,378 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#29. Macon County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 9,611,801 people (3,511,383 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 3
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 1
#28. Northampton County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 9,731,110 people (1,743,523 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#27. Jackson County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 9,413,308 people (4,046,122 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#26. Gaston County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 5,917,588 people (13,379,488 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 7
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#25. Gates County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 6,832,492 people (723,151 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#24. Hoke County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 8,022,410 people (4,185,211 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 5
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0

#23. Currituck County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 7,111,119 people (1,960,891 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 5
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 5

#22. Tyrrell County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 9,872,875 people (339,232 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#21. Alexander County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 7,819,942 people (2,853,575 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#20. Wayne County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 5,874,172 people (6,913,430 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0

#19. Orange County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 5,766,737 people (8,498,787 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 1
#18. Bertie County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 11,381,160 people (2,060,559 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#17. Mitchell County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 11,764,083 people (1,758,848 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 1
#16. Cleveland County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 11,508,656 people (11,381,831 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 10
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 1

#15. Pitt County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 8,611,373 people (14,691,002 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 1
#14. Wilson County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 10,108,453 people (7,969,909 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0

#13. Rutherford County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 7,958,730 people (5,140,703 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 16
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#12. Washington County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 12,733,774 people (1,424,018 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. Stokes County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 8,864,499 people (3,952,503 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 3
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. McDowell County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 10,111,638 people (4,502,409 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#9. Watauga County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 9,045,938 people (4,891,772 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#8. Martin County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 8,402,138 people (1,866,367 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0

#7. Madison County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 10,072,834 people (2,142,391 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#6. Chowan County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 11,634,756 people (1,605,131 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#5. Perquimans County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 14,621,843 people (1,901,132 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#4. Transylvania County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 18,312,826 people (6,039,387 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 2
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0

#3. Avery County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 17,308,001 people (3,071,651 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 1
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0
#2. Swain County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 29,974,171 people (4,246,141 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 1

#1. Graham County
- Emergency shelter capacity per 100K: 52,236,445 people (4,225,406 total capacity)
- Shelters with generators: 0
- Shelters in 100-year floodplain: 0