Counties with the most emergency shelters in Oklahoma
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 Oklahoma. 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. Pottawatomie County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#49. Beckham County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#48. McCurtain County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#47. Washington County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#46. Seminole County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#45. McClain County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#44. Creek County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#43. Alfalfa County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#42. Stephens County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#41. Okmulgee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#40. Atoka County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#39. Texas County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#38. Pawnee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#37. Marshall County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#36. Caddo County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#35. Hughes County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#34. Noble County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#33. Kingfisher County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#32. Grady County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#31. Lincoln County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#30. Grant County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#29. Mayes County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#28. Ottawa County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#27. Okfuskee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#26. Nowata County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#25. Choctaw County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#24. Roger Mills County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#23. Kiowa County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#22. Harper County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#21. Woodward County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#20. Jackson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#19. Carter County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#18. Woods County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#17. Murray County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#16. Greer County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#15. Jefferson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#14. Major County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#13. Craig County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#12. Harmon County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. Blaine County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. Custer County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#9. Cotton County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#8. Pontotoc County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#7. Johnston County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#6. Love County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#5. Beaver County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#4. Tillman County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#3. Ellis County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#2. Dewey County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#1. Cimarron County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0