The devastation wrought by Hurricanes Helene and Milton has left many of those afflicted in the Southeast wondering if they need to move permanently to escape future natural disasters.
To answer this question, the DailyMail.com spoke to the US Climate Resilience Toolkit to find out which counties were the safest from heat, flooding, droughts and other extreme weather threats.
Their experts revealed the nine counties in the US with the lowest level of risk from extreme weather in the country.
They’re all rural areas of Michigan, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, researcher Daniel Herman told the DailyMail.com.
Iosco County, Michigan, has been ranked by experts as one of the nine safest areas of America to hunker down against climate change
‘For folks looking to homestead or live off-grid in a small community, any of those counties would be a good bet to avoid the worst of what climate change might throw at us,’ Herman said.
But they’re all ‘very rural and isolated areas’ and not to everyone’s taste, he warned.
‘There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for folks that are looking to migrate,’ Herman added.
‘We all have different priorities and considerations, whether that’s family or career, our timeline, or whether we want to live in a city or rural area.’
One of the great advantages of living ‘off-grid’ is that remote homes can be snapped up for bargain prices.
Pictured: Wellington, Florida, resident survey the damage done by Hurricane Milton after a tornado destroyed houses in her neighborhood
The typical house sells for $249,000 in Wood County, a safe spot, while they change hands for just $184,000 in Alcona County.
That’s much lower than the median US home sales price of $412,000, according to the Federal Reserve.
But there are downsides, Herman said.
The ultra-safe counties are often several hours’ drive from a big city, such as Detroit or Milwaukee.
That may make them unsuitable for people looking to grow their career at big companies, or those who like dining out and live music events.
Cyclists enjoy the waterfront in Tawas, Michigan, where extreme weather events are not likely to spoil your day
Reed City in Osceola County, Michigan, is a low risk place to buy a home at prices cheaper than many parts of the US
And even though they’re tied as America’s safest spots, a weather calamity could yet strike any of them, he added.
‘I don’t think we’d find a single inch of ground that’s completely safe,’ Herman said.
For those unwilling to give up city living, there are some nearby options that are relatively safe.
Realtor.com ranked the cities safest from climate chaos and found that Akron, Ohio, was the top pick.
Seattle, Washington, and the Ohio cities of Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus, rounded out the top five.
Realtor.com economist Jiayi Yu said buyers could consider climate risk when choosing where to settle down.
Those relocating to Harrisville, in Alcona County, Michigan, for a climate refuge may notice a change of pace from the big city
A North Carolina resident salvaging what’s left of his belongings from his flooded home in Kinston, after Hurricane Florence struck in 2018
They would enjoy ‘reduced risk of property damage, lower insurance costs, and a more stable local economy,’ Yu said.
‘This can contribute to a more secure, stable and fulfilling lifestyle.’
That message resonates in the Florida counties hard hit by Hurricane Milton, which has so far left 24 people dead.
They were returning to a semblance of normalcy this week, with power restored to most areas, gas stations reopening and kids going back to school.
But the one-two punch of Helena and then Milton — and the storms that frequently batter the state — have left millions wondering whether its becoming uninhabitable.
The death toll from the two storms is approaching 300.
Including damage done by Helene in other states, Moody’s says the combined privately insured losses for the two storms range between $35 billion and $55 billion.
Millions of people have already been forced to relocate due to worsening storms, wildfires, heat and floods.
Tens of millions more are set to join the great climate migration in the coming decades, experts warn.
Pictured: A Manasota Key home destroyed by Hurricane Milton
According to Herman, the ‘entire Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida is probably one of the worst places to be living right now.’
Its 16 million people battle extreme heat, hurricanes, flooding, rising seas — which are all made worse by ‘poor governance and infrastructure,’ he says.
‘I believe we’re going to see a lot of migration out of that area over the coming decades, whether that’s inland to higher ground, or across the country to northern regions,’ he told the DailyMail.com.
The Southeastern coast from Florida to North Carolina and the drought-prone Southwest — particularly Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico — are also danger spots, he said.
The DailyMail.com recently worked with SafeHome.org, a research group, to rank and then map out the lower 48 US states that were at the greatest risk from weather disasters.
Across the US, the average risk from climate change impacts was scored at 229 on the index — but for some states, that number is much higher, says the group’s researcher Rob Gabriele.
A firefighter tackles a wildfire in the Angeles National Forest in California, in September 2024
‘There are a handful of unlucky states that by virtue of their geographic placement will be especially threatened by climate change,’ says Gabriele.
Topping the index was Florida, with a risk factor of 308.
This may come as no surprise to residents of its Big Bend region, where Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on September 26, levelling homes with its 140-mile-an-hour winds.
South Carolina (with a risk factor of 282), Louisiana (281), North Carolina (276), and Mississippi (270) rounded out the five most threatened states.
The pattern is clear: nine of the 10 states that are likely to bear the brunt of climate change are across the American South.
Those with long coastlines are at the greatest peril, as melting ice caps and rising sea levels raise the danger of flooding.
The index also offers a lodestar for where climate migrants should head.
Pictured: Debris piled up high after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Treasure Island, Florida
The safest destination is landlocked Vermont, with a risk score of just 30.
The Green Mountain State is threatened by extreme temperatures in the summer, researchers said, but is likely to be spared from drought, wildfires, or floods.
New Hampshire (63), Massachusetts (99), Minnesota (104) and Colorado (106), rounded at the five least-threatened states in the nation.
The second clear pattern is that many of the safest states are in America’s Northeast, which is set to endure less severe effects of climate change than elsewhere.
To create the index, researchers used data from Climate Central, a New Jersey-based institute, on the numbers of people who are at risk of extreme weather events.
There was not enough information available to rank Alaska and Hawaii for the study.
Those living in the path of hurricanes and wildfires have encountered a problem beyond the powers of Mother Nature: a lack of insurance.
Laurie Lilliott stands amid the wreckage of her destroyed home in Dekle Beach in rural Taylor County, Florida, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene
US coast guards conduct urban search and rescue in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Keaton Beach, Florida
An aerial view of a tractor operating near the drought-ravaged Salton Sea in July 2022, near Mecca, California
A report last month from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found that residents of high-risk areas were struggling to insure their properties against natural disasters, which was either becoming more expensive or was no longer available.
But Americans do not appear to heed these danger signs — as much domestic migration is into the states most threatened by climate change.
New York, California and other relatively expensive states have in recent years lost people to such Southern states as Florida and Texas.
Florida, which is frequently battered by hurricanes, gained millions of new residents between 2000 and 2023.
Meanwhile, Texas boomtowns like Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth, have mushroomed in recent years despite each being at risk of many climate dangers.
The devastation from Helene and Milton have doubtless revived fears of climate chaos, but, for now, it seems that some Americans will continue to move into the eye of the storm.
