US National Emergencies Mapped

The novel coronavirus has plagued the world and the United States throughout 2020 and beyond. With a death count surpassing even the highest of early estimates, COVID-19 is incomparable to previous diseases. Even the most recent pandemic, 2009’s H1N1 (also known as “Swine Flu”), resulted in much fewer deaths.

But these diseases do have something in common: they each resulted in the declaration of a national emergency by the President of the United States. When this is proclaimed, the government can perform actions not normally allowed. Throughout American history, presidents have declared 69 of these emergency orders. Of these, 34 have since expired while another 35 are currently in effect, each having been renewed annually by the president.

To gain a better understanding of these emergencies, we’ll cover their eight categories, those that are current, and the presidents who declared the most. You can also view this information, and the location of each, on the map below.

View National emergencies in the United States in a full screen map

Each marker on the map comes from Wikipedia’s List of national emergencies in the U.S.. Each of these emergencies has been categorized, which you can read more about below.

National Emergency Categories

Most (46) of the U.S.’s national emergencies can be classified as sanctions (punishments one country puts on another country hoping for a change in behavior). Other common reasons for emergencies include:

  • Trade (8)
  • Military (5)
  • Arms (3)
  • Public health (2)
  • Maritime (2)
  • Economic (2)
  • Legal (1)

Only one of the eight trade emergencies has remained intact: the Continuation of Export Control Regulations. As for military emergency orders, two of the five are ongoing: one from the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the 2019 Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States. You can group the map by the rest of the national emergencies to learn more. Otherwise, let’s take a closer look at how many emergency orders remain to this day.

The 35 Current National Emergencies

“Current” national emergencies include those that were created in the same year or emergency orders from previous years the current president renewed. As of early November 2020, 34 national emergencies have ended while 35 are current. Below you’ll find the current emergency declarations, starting with the most recent.

Emergency name Date Year Category President Country
Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19 Outbreak March 13 2020 Public health Trump US
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Associated with the International Criminal Court June 11 2020 Sanctions Trump Afghanistan
Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain May 15 2019 Sanctions Trump China
Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States February 15 2019 Military Trump Mexico
Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election September 12 2018 Sanctions Trump Russia
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Nicaragua November 27 2018 Sanctions Trump Nicaragua
Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption December 20 2017 Sanctions Trump Myanmar
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Burundi November 22 2015 Sanctions Obama Burundi
Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela March 8 2015 Sanctions Obama Venezuela
Blocking the Property of Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities April 1 2015 Sanctions Obama North Korea
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Central African Republic May 12 2014 Sanctions Obama Central African Republic
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine March 6 2014 Sanctions Obama Ukraine
Blocking Property of Certain Persons With Respect to South Sudan April 3 2014 Sanctions Obama South Sudan
Blocking Property of Persons Threatening the Peace, Security, or Stability of Yemen May 16 2012 Sanctions Obama Yemen
Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations July 24 2011 Sanctions Obama Mexico
Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Libya February 25 2011 Sanctions Obama Libya
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in Somalia April 12 2010 Sanctions Obama Somalia
Continuing Certain Restrictions With Respect to North Korea and North Korean Nationals June 26 2008 Sanctions Bush North Korea
Blocking Property of Persons Undermining the Sovereignty of Lebanon or Its Democratic Processes and Institutions August 1 2007 Sanctions Bush Lebanon
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo October 27 2006 Sanctions Bush Democratic Republic of the Congo
Blocking Property of Certain Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Belarus June 16 2006 Sanctions Bush Belarus
Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting the Export of Certain Goods to Syria May 11 2004 Sanctions Bush Syria
Protecting the Development Fund for Iraq and Certain Other Property in Which Iraq Has an Interest May 22 2003 Legal Bush Iraq
Blocking Property of Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Zimbabwe March 6 2003 Sanctions Bush Zimbabwe
Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism September 23 2001 Sanctions Bush Afghanistan
Declaration of National Emergency by Reason of Certain Terrorist Attacks September 14 2001 Military Bush Afghanistan
Blocking Property of Persons Who Threaten International Stabilization Efforts in the Western Balkans June 26 2001 Sanctions Bush North Macedonia
Continuation of Export Control Regulations August 17 2001 Trade Bush US
Blocking Sudanese Government Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Sudan November 3 1997 Sanctions Clinton Sudan
Declaration of a National Emergency and Invocation of Emergency Authority Relating to the Regulation of the Anchorage and Movement of Vessels March 1 1996 Maritime Clinton Cuba
Blocking Assets and Prohibiting Transactions with Significant Narcotics Traffickers October 21 1995 Sanctions Clinton Colombia
Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to the Development of Iranian Petroleum Resources March 15 1995 Sanctions Clinton Iran
Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process January 23 1995 Sanctions Clinton Palestine
Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction November 14 1994 Arms Clinton US
Blocking Iranian Government Property November 14 1979 Sanctions Carter Iran

Of the 35 current national emergencies, seven were enacted by the recent Trump administration. That leaves 28 emergency orders in effect from past administrations the current president has continuously renewed. The oldest of these is the: Blocking Iranian Government Property (Executive Order 12170) from Jimmy Carter, who ordered the freezing of Iranian assets as part of the U.S. response during the Iran hostage crisis on November 14th, 1979.

The most recent national emergency is, of course, Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19 Outbreak (Proclamation 9994) proclaimed by Donald Trump on March 13, 2020. Let’s see how the numbers of national emergencies of the recent president compare to his predecessors.

Presidents Who Declared the Most Emergency Orders

While ‘most national emergencies’ isn’t a typical goal of a new POTUS, there’s no denying some U.S. presidents declared more than others. And only one has proclaimed 15+ national emergencies throughout his terms. So which president was the host with the most? That honor goes to #42—Bill Clinton.

  • Clinton – 17 national emergencies
  • Bush – 13
  • Obama – 12
  • Trump – 7
  • Reagan – 6
  • Bush (H.W.) – 5

Of the 17 national emergencies Bill Clinton declared, 11 are no longer in effect. That leaves six that remain to this day. These can further be broken down into four of the national emergency categories: sanctions (11), trade (3), arms (2), and maritime (1) emergencies.

Aside from Clinton, both George W. Bush and Barack Obama declared more than ten national emergencies throughout their time in office. Two of Bush’s 13 proclamations followed the September 11 attacks. The first was the Declaration of National Emergency by Reason of Certain Terrorist Attacks on September 14 which was followed on September 23 by the Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism. Both of these are still in effect, along with nine others.

Find More Meaning in Location Data

Each of the U.S.’s 69 Executive Orders or Proclamations were passed by the U.S. President to protect the country. Many were a result of issues inside the U.S. like Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19 Outbreak (Proclamation 9994). However, some were in response to international incidents, i.e. Blocking Property of Persons Threatening the Peace, Security, or Stability of Yemen (Executive Order 13611).

As you saw on the map, Afghanistan and Russia were the subjects of the most emergency orders at four each while Iran was a hot topic of three. This is the sort of insight we may have missed had we just kept the data stored in Google Sheets or Excel.

When your spreadsheet contains geographic data like addresses, coordinates, or even just countries and the occasional city, how can you be expected to analyze the information? In these instances, free mapping tools like BatchGeo can help you find more meaning in your data with customizable maps.

Most Walkable Cities in the US, Canada, and Australia

A city’s walkability is important for those whose primary mode of transportation is their own two feet. Even if you’re not getting your 10,000 steps a day from walking around your city, it’s nice to have the option of walking to a grocery store located just a few blocks away. The most walkable cities in the US also tend to have the healthiest residents. Yet not every city is set up in a way that promotes walking. The walk score of major cities in the US, Canada, and Australia vary based on factors like “walking distance to amenities, population density, and road metrics such as block length and intersection density.” We’ll highlight the 10 best walkable cities in the US along with the least walkable cities and the other ways to sort the map (by transit and bike score) below.

View Most Walkable Cities in the US in a full screen map

The map was made using data we gathered from Walk Score. Walk Score identified the walkability of over 140 major cities in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Plotted on a map, you can visualize data trends like which coast is home to a majority of the 10 best walkable cities in the US.

The 10 Best Walkable Cities in the US

City officials know enhancing the walkability of their cities improves the health of current residents and may even attract more. After all, why would anyone not want to live in one of the most walkable US cities? However, the following 10 cities don’t need to make massive to increase walkability. Other cities may even want to take notes from the 10 most walkable US cities.

  1. New York, New York
  2. San Francisco, California
  3. Jersey City, New Jersey
  4. Boston, Massachusetts
  5. Newark, New Jersey (tied with Philadelphia)
  6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (tied with Newark)
  7. Miami, Florida
  8. Chicago, Illinois
  9. Washington D.C.
  10. Seattle, Washington

When it comes to the most walkable cities, New York, New York is #1. Based on “walking distance to amenities, population density, and road metrics such as block length and intersection density,” New York, New York scores 88.3 out of a possible 100, the highest walk score of any city in the U.S. (and Canada and Australia). New York, New York’s walk score, along with all the other cities with a walk score of 70-89, indicates “most errands can be accomplished on foot.”

On the opposite end of the country, San Francisco, California earns second place of the most walkable cities in the US with a walk score of 87.4. Looking at the map, you may notice the most walkable cities in the US are nearly all located on one U.S. coast or another. However, the East Coast, specifically the Northeast, is most concentrated with walkable cities.

Throw a stone from Washington Square Park and you could hit three of the 10 most walkable cities in the US: the aforementioned New York City, Jersey City, New Jersey (walk score of 86.8), and Newark, New Jersey (78.8). Add in the Northeastern cities of Boston, Massachusetts (82), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (78.8), and Washington, D.C. (75.9) and over 50% of the best walkable cities are located in the Northeast. Miami, Florida is another Eastern coastal city (albeit a Southern one) with a top walk score of 77.6.

Far, far away, previously discussed San Francisco, California and Seattle, Washington (74) represent the West Coast in the 10 most walkable cities in the US. That leaves Chicago, Illinois (77.4) as the one city in the top 10 not located on a coast. But, you know what they say, Chicago is referred to as the “Third Coast”. With all the most walkable US cities located along coasts, we wonder where the least walkable cities in America are located.

Least Walkable Cities in America

We’ve discussed the most walkable cities in the US. Now it’s time to kick back and put your feet up just like those in the least walkable cities in America do.

  1. Chesapeake, Virginia
  2. Fayetteville, North Carolina
  3. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
  4. Jacksonville, Florida
  5. Montgomery, Alabama
  6. Charlotte, North Carolina
  7. Anchorage, Alaska
  8. Gilbert, Arizona (tied with Nashville-Davidson)
  9. Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee (tied with Gilbert)
  10. Durham, North Carolina (tied with Henderson)
  11. Henderson, Nevada (tied with Durham)

Chesapeake, Virginia is the worst of the least walkable cities in the US (and Canada and Australia). Its walk score is just (21), making it a “car-dependent” city in which “almost all errands require a” vehicle. Not too far behind Chesapeake are two North Carolinian cities: Fayetteville (21.4) and Winston-Salem (23.4). These are the second and third least walkable cities in America though they aren’t from North Carolina to appear on the least walkable list. In fact, four out of the 11 least walkable cities are located in North Carolina, including Charlotte (26.3) and Durham (29).

Overall, cities in the Southeastern US appear to be the least walkable. Seven out of 11 of the least walkable cities are located in the Southeast, which includes the five cities in North Carolina. Additional Southeastern cities are Jacksonville, Florida (25.7), Montgomery, Alabama (26.1), and Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee (28.3). Rounding out the least walkable cities are two Southwestern outliers: Gilbert, Arizona (28.3) and Henderson, Nevada (29) along with Anchorage, Alaska (27.8). In addition to the best walkable cities in the US and the least walkable cities, there are other ways to sort the map.

Other Ways to Sort the Map: Transit & Bike Score

While a map displaying the walk score of more than 140 major cities in the US, Canada, and Australia is chock-full of fascinating insights, there are also other ways to sort the map. These include how each of the 140 cities fares in transit and biking.

Transit Score

Interestingly enough, the cities that score the best on transit scores are the same cities with the best walk scores. These familiar names include New York, New York (#1 in transit with a score of 84.3) and San Francisco, California (#2 in transit with a score of 80.3). Other top transit cities in the US are Boston, Washington D.C., Jersey City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Newark, and Seattle, all of which were among the most walkable cities. However, a city not included in the best walkable cities that has a high transit score is Arlington, Virginia.

Bike Score

As for bikes, New York and San Francisco didn’t quite make the cut. The city with the best bike score is Minneapolis, Minnesota. It scored 83.5 while Portland, Oregon has the second-best bike score of 82.4. Chicago once again pops up near the top as do Denver, San Francisco, Arlington, Boston, Jersey City, Seattle, and New York at #10.

As you can see, it’s possible to group a map by more than just one category. In this case, we were mainly focused on the walk scores of 140 major cities. But our data also included the transit and bike scores of those cities. Instead of just scrapping potentially useful data, you can utilize map grouping to group your custom maps by additional data you happen to already have. You can often get some unexpected insights into the other categories of your data with map grouping. Get started today.

How to Place a Pin on Google Maps & Save

Emojis have become essential for communication in our daily lives. While the most popular emojis help express tone or feeling, the round pushpin indicates something just as important: a location where you’ve been or where you want to go. It also happens to be the unofficial icon of one of the most popular web mapping services, Google Maps.

While most people are familiar with obtaining directions from the mega-mapping platform, users often have questions about how to drop a pin and save it. Attempts to drop a pin in Google Maps may result in a search for nearby places—without the option to save or even label it. But there’s another mapping platform where mapping and saving pins is more intuitive—and it utilizes the Google Maps API for its geocoding process.

Create a Spreadsheet of Locations to Pin

Of course, if you’re looking to place a pin on Google Maps, you must first have a location (or two!) in mind. You can take your desired locations, in the form of a spreadsheet, and easily map and display them on a custom Google Map with the help of BatchGeo. BatchGeo performs everything you need to put a pin or pins on Google Maps in just a few easy steps, as noted below.

  • Add the location of your desired pin(s) to a spreadsheet. Excel, Google Sheets, or any other spreadsheet tool will suffice, as long as you’re able to copy and paste.
  • Dedicate at least one column of your spreadsheet to the location information of your desired pin(s). Any of the following location data will work:
    • Addresses
    • City names
    • State names
    • Postal codes
    • Country names
    • Latitude and longitude coordinates

You can even map landmarks and business names. In fact, most of what you search for in Google Maps can be used in BatchGeo. Now let’s map your locations, whether the Eiffel tower landmark or your sister’s new address in Spain.

Map One or More of Your Pins

Once you have your spreadsheet with your location data, you’re ready to create a pinned map just like the one below.

View Single pin map in a full screen map

To do so:

  1. Open your spreadsheet
  2. Select (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A) and copy (Ctrl+C or Cmd+C) your data
  3. Navigate to batchgeo.com in your preferred web browser
  4. Click on the location data box with the example data in it, then paste (Ctrl+V or Cmd+V) your own data. Select “Map Now”
  5. Check to make sure you have the proper location data columns available by clicking “Validate & Set Options”
  6. Select the proper location column from each drop-down
  7. Click “Make Map” and watch as the geocoder performs its process

You can add multiple pins to the same map by adding additional locations to your spreadsheet. With this added data, you may also find it helpful to include more columns of information. One common example is a type column, a way to assign categories to your data. But you could also include separate columns for length, height, etc., depending on your information. After adding additional columns, follow the same steps noted above.

View Multi-pin map in a full screen map

Having multiple locations unlocks the ability to group and filter your map by any additional columns from your spreadsheet. And after you’ve created your map, there are just two things left to do. The first is to save your pins. Then, ultimately, you may wish to share your map.

Save & Share Your Pins on Google Maps

With your pins mapped, you’ll want to ensure you click Save. Once that’s done, you’ll be able to access your map on any device by visiting its custom URL. But your eyes don’t have to be the only ones that get to see your saved map. You may wish to share your pins of locations where you’ve been or where you want to go with friends, family, or followers.

You can share your maps on social media a handful of ways, the easiest being via URL. Copy the URL from your web browser (which always starts with batchgeo.com/map/). Paste the link into a text to your mom, an email to a buddy, or even a tweet to all your followers. And it’s just as simple to embed your maps into your website’s homepage or blog post with batchgeo.com.