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Shelters

In immediate danger, call 911. This page is a directory, not an emergency service. During a tornado warning do not drive to look for a shelter — take cover where you are, in the lowest interior room away from windows.

Find shelters near you

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Emergency & Disaster Shelter 33

Opened by the Red Cross, a county EMA or a city after a disaster. Usually open only while a disaster is active.

Homeless Shelter 46

Year-round emergency housing. Intake times and bed availability change daily — always call first.

Cold Weather & Overnight Shelter 3

Seasonal overnight shelters, often opening only below a set temperature.

Warming Center 22

Daytime places to get warm during extreme cold. Not overnight beds.

Cooling Center 18

Air-conditioned public spaces open during heat emergencies.

Domestic Violence Shelter 11

Confidential shelters for people fleeing abuse. Addresses are never published — reach them through the hotline.

Youth & Runaway Shelter 4

For unaccompanied minors and young adults.

Family Shelter 9

Keeps families with children together rather than splitting by gender.

Veterans Shelter 2

Shelter and transitional housing for veterans.

Pet-Friendly Shelter 1

Takes people together with their animals, or has co-located animal sheltering.

Day Center 8

Showers, laundry, mail, meals and case management during the day. Not an overnight bed.

Other Shelter 3

Anything that does not fit the categories above.

About tornado and storm shelters

Most communities do not have a public tornado shelter. Where community safe rooms do exist they are usually locked until a warning is issued, and they are meant for people who are already nearby — not for driving to.

A vehicle is one of the most dangerous places to be in a tornado. If a warning is issued for where you are, take cover immediately rather than travelling.

Where to go, in order of preference

  1. A basement or storm cellar, away from heavy appliances on the floor above.
  2. A FEMA-rated safe room or a below-ground shelter.
  3. The lowest floor, in a small interior room with no windows — a bathroom, closet or hallway. Put as many walls between you and the outside as you can.
  4. Cover your head and neck. A bike or sports helmet is genuinely worth keeping with your emergency supplies.

If you live in a mobile or manufactured home

Leave before the storm arrives, not during it. Mobile homes offer little protection even when tied down. Work out now — today, while the weather is fine — which nearby sturdy building you will go to, and how long it takes to get there.

Work this out before the siren

  • Ask your county emergency management agency whether any public safe rooms exist and when they open.
  • Have more than one way to get warnings: a NOAA weather radio, your phone's emergency alerts, and a local station.
  • A warning siren is designed to be heard outdoors. Do not count on hearing it while asleep indoors.

Official guidance: National Weather Service tornado safety. Your county emergency management agency is the authority on local safe rooms.

Works anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day

If nothing local is listed, or everything nearby is full, these are the numbers that will find you something.

Start here

211 — statewide health and human services

211

Dial 211 from any phone. Trained local operators know which shelters are open tonight, which have beds, and what the intake cut-off is. This is the single best first call in almost every situation.

Open the official finder

Disaster

American Red Cross — open disaster shelters

1-800-733-2767

The official list of shelters open right now after a disaster, searchable by ZIP. Also available in the free Red Cross Emergency app.

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Housing

HUD shelter and housing finder

Federal directory of emergency shelters, transitional housing, food and health clinics, searchable by city.

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Confidential

National Domestic Violence Hotline

1-800-799-7233

Free, confidential, 24/7. Text START to 88788 or chat online. They can arrange a confidential shelter placement — you never have to give an address to find one.

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Crisis

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

988

Call or text 988 any time. Free and confidential support for anyone in distress.

Open the official finder