The National Shelter System feature class/shapefile contains facilities that can house individuals in the event of an issued evacuation for the facilities area. This feature class/shapefile’s attribution contains physical, demographic, and capacity information for facilities in the continental United States and some of its territories. The purpose of this feature class/shapefile is to provide accurate locations for a potential shelter in the event of a disaster. The facilities included have been designated as a Shelter by either the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the American Red Cross (ARC). THIS LAYER SHOULD NOT BE USED TO DETERMINE THE OPERATIONAL STATUS OF A FACILITY DURING AN ACTIVE EMERGENCY.