ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an operationally realistic overview of emergency sheltering in a disaster context in the United States. Emergency managers, shelter providers, health care agencies, and others coordinate and collaborate before, during, and after a disaster to provide appropriate locations and care for a diverse set of potential shelter residents. Normally, emergency managers expect that between 10 and 20 percent of the evacuating public will need shelter. Most of those individuals will go to general population shelters while others stay with friends or family or in hotels. During the massive Hurricane Katrina evacuation, millions left the Gulf Coast and demonstrated that the number in need of shelter can swell well past the 20 percent mark.
