Counties with the most emergency shelters in Virginia
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 Virginia. 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. New Kent County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#49. Botetourt County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#48. Albemarle County
- Shelters listed with generators: 8
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#47. Sussex County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#46. Lancaster County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#45. Winchester city
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#44. Petersburg city
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#43. Fauquier County
- Shelters listed with generators: 8
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#42. Culpeper County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#41. Russell County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#40. Cumberland County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#39. Staunton city
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#38. Caroline County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#37. Orange County
- Shelters listed with generators: 7
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#36. Richmond County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#35. James City County
- Shelters listed with generators: 8
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#34. Lee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#33. Fredericksburg city
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#32. Brunswick County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#31. Louisa County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#30. Amelia County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#29. Floyd County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#28. Rockbridge County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#27. Rappahannock County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#26. Craig County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#25. Clarke County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#24. Montgomery County
- Shelters listed with generators: 11
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#23. Buckingham County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#22. Wythe County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#21. Charlottesville city
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#20. Buchanan County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#19. Madison County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#18. Greene County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#17. Pulaski County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#16. Fluvanna County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#15. Buena Vista city
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#14. Gloucester County
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#13. Giles County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#12. Norton city
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. Patrick County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. Northumberland County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#9. Carroll County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#8. Lexington city
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#7. Grayson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#6. Nelson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#5. Bland County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#4. Galax city
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#3. Bath County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#2. Covington city
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#1. Highland County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0