Counties with the most emergency shelters in West Virginia

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January 20, 2023
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Counties with the most emergency shelters in West 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 West 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. Mingo County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 12.6 (3 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#49. Marshall County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 16.2 (5 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#48. Lewis County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 17.7 (3 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#47. Wyoming County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 18.5 (4 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#46. Hancock County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 20.5 (6 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#45. Jefferson County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 24.3 (14 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#44. Upshur County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 25.0 (6 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#43. Wetzel County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 27.3 (4 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#42. Morgan County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 29.2 (5 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#41. Berkeley County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 29.9 (36 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 7
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#40. Hampshire County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 30.2 (7 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#39. Randolph County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 32.0 (9 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#38. Cabell County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 33.8 (32 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#37. Tyler County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 35.7 (3 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1

#36. Grant County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 36.2 (4 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#35. Preston County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 37.9 (13 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#34. Marion County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 40.9 (23 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#33. Putnam County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 41.8 (24 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#32. Hardy County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 42.0 (6 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#31. Kanawha County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 42.9 (78 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1

#30. Brooke County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 44.2 (10 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#29. Monongalia County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 45.4 (48 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#28. Taylor County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 47.8 (8 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#27. Mason County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 50.6 (13 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#26. Wood County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 50.8 (43 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1

#25. Wayne County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 55.9 (22 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#24. Monroe County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 56.0 (7 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#23. Barbour County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 57.7 (9 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#22. Lincoln County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 58.2 (12 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#21. Nicholas County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 60.6 (15 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#20. Greenbrier County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 63.0 (21 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#19. Harrison County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 63.4 (42 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#18. Pendleton County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 64.0 (4 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#17. Braxton County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 70.9 (9 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#16. Jackson County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 71.4 (20 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#15. McDowell County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 72.4 (14 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2

#14. Roane County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 77.9 (11 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#13. Pleasants County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 78.7 (6 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#12. Ritchie County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 80.7 (7 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#11. Tucker County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 88.0 (6 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#10. Webster County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 95.1 (8 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#9. Boone County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 99.7 (22 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#8. Mineral County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 99.8 (27 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#7. Fayette County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 107.2 (44 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#6. Gilmer County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 119.7 (9 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#5. Wirt County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 133.0 (7 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#4. Clay County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 134.5 (11 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#3. Doddridge County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 138.7 (11 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#2. Pocahontas County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 149.9 (12 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0

#1. Calhoun County

- Emergency shelters per 100K people: 202.5 (13 shelters in database)
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1

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