Counties with the most emergency shelters in South 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 South Carolina. 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.
#46. Richland County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#45. Beaufort County
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#44. Anderson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#43. Pickens County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#42. Charleston County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 23
#41. Jasper County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#40. Marlboro County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#39. Berkeley County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 16
#38. Lexington County
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#37. Newberry County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#36. York County
- Shelters listed with generators: 9
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#35. Dorchester County
- Shelters listed with generators: 7
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 3
#34. Florence County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#33. Greenville County
- Shelters listed with generators: 31
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#32. Georgetown County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#31. Lancaster County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#30. Edgefield County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#29. Sumter County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#28. Darlington County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#27. Abbeville County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#26. Kershaw County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#25. Marion County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#24. Spartanburg County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#23. McCormick County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#22. Orangeburg County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#21. Chesterfield County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#20. Cherokee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#19. Greenwood County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#18. Bamberg County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#17. Oconee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#16. Lee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#15. Aiken County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#14. Calhoun County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#13. Colleton County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#12. Laurens County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. Williamsburg County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. Chester County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#9. Barnwell County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#8. Saluda County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#7. Horry County
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#6. Dillon County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#5. Clarendon County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#4. Union County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#3. Fairfield County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#2. Allendale County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#1. Hampton County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0