Counties with the most emergency shelters in Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin. 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. Dane County
- Shelters listed with generators: 50
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#49. La Crosse County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#48. Price County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#47. Waukesha County
- Shelters listed with generators: 57
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#46. Kenosha County
- Shelters listed with generators: 16
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#45. Vernon County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#44. Jackson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#43. Washington County
- Shelters listed with generators: 15
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#42. Dunn County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#41. Washburn County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#40. Calumet County
- Shelters listed with generators: 6
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#39. Sheboygan County
- Shelters listed with generators: 16
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#38. Dodge County
- Shelters listed with generators: 8
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#37. Brown County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#36. Juneau County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#35. Winnebago County
- Shelters listed with generators: 15
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 2
#34. Polk County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#33. Jefferson County
- Shelters listed with generators: 10
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#32. Langlade County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#31. Manitowoc County
- Shelters listed with generators: 8
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#30. Waushara County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#29. Iowa County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#28. Rock County
- Shelters listed with generators: 24
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#27. Ashland County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#26. Waupaca County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#25. Eau Claire County
- Shelters listed with generators: 17
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#24. Sauk County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#23. Rusk County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#22. Columbia County
- Shelters listed with generators: 8
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#21. Fond du Lac County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#20. Crawford County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#19. Forest County
- Shelters listed with generators: 3
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#18. Richland County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#17. Menominee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#16. Green Lake County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#15. Lafayette County
- Shelters listed with generators: 7
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#14. Douglas County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#13. Grant County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 1
#12. Green County
- Shelters listed with generators: 8
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#11. Taylor County
- Shelters listed with generators: 5
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#10. Door County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#9. Oneida County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#8. Marquette County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#7. Buffalo County
- Shelters listed with generators: 1
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#6. Bayfield County
- Shelters listed with generators: 4
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#5. Pierce County
- Shelters listed with generators: 9
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#4. Pepin County
- Shelters listed with generators: 2
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#3. Kewaunee County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#2. Trempealeau County
- Shelters listed with generators: 12
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0
#1. Adams County
- Shelters listed with generators: 0
- Shelters listed in 100-year floodplain: 0