Counties with the most emergency shelters in Washington
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 Washington. 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.
#39. Franklin County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#38. Benton County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#37. King County
- Shelters listed with generators: 51
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 9
#36. Kittitas County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#35. Clark County
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 6
#34. Spokane County
- Shelters listed with generators: 10
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#33. Thurston County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#32. Cowlitz County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#31. Skagit County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#30. Snohomish County
- Shelters listed with generators: 36
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 8
#29. Island County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#28. Grant County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#27. Pierce County
- Shelters listed with generators: 10
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#26. Adams County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#25. Kitsap County
- Shelters listed with generators: 10
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#24. Douglas County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#23. Chelan County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#22. Walla Walla County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#21. Yakima County
- Shelters listed with generators: 8
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#20. Columbia County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#19. Whitman County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#18. Stevens County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#17. Asotin County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#16. Mason County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#15. Okanogan County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#14. Skamania County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#13. Jefferson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#12. Whatcom County
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. San Juan County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. Clallam County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#9. Lewis County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 3
#8. Grays Harbor County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 18
#7. Klickitat County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#6. Ferry County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#5. Pend Oreille County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#4. Lincoln County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#3. Garfield County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#2. Pacific County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#1. Wahkiakum County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0