Photo: Gar Lunney · Public domainFlood mapping exists for Blood 148: 3 on record, latest by Government of Alberta
Fire seldom reaches Blood 148: since 1986, 1.3% of the land within 25 km has burned (0.03% a year). NRCan expects $0.045 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in Blood 148, near the typical $0.030. In Health Canada’s survey, 8.9% of homes tested in Blood 148’s area exceeded 200 Bq/m³, close to the typical 6.6%. Blood 148 grades C+ for hazard risk, with wildfire counted against it.
What stands out about Blood 148’s hazards
For Blood 148, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Blood 148 faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Blood 148 grades C+ for hazard risk
The grade weighs Blood 148’s seismic risk and radon equally, and wildfire is one-sided: a high band counts against a town, a low one earns nothing.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. The burned-area record misses fires under about 10 ha and most grass and farm fires.
Wildfire is rare near Blood 148: 1.3% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Blood 148’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
The land within 25 km of Blood 148 burns at 0.03% a year on average, the low band; the typical Canadian town: 0.000%.
Fire has stayed at least 11 km from Blood 148’s homes since 1986.
Forest fuel is scarce around Blood 148: 0% of the land within 5 km, 0.4% within 25 km.
Shares of land within 5 and 25 km of populated blocks: burned at least once in 1986–2025 (CWFIS burned-area composite), forest fuel and grass (fire behaviour fuel types, 2026, 250 m grid).
Burn rate a year, towns in Alberta · highest of 479
In the top quarter in Alberta: Blood 148 ranks 41st of 479 at 0.03% a year, with Wainwright first at 1.43%.
Each bar: the yearly average share of land within 25 km of a town’s homes that burned, 1986–2025 (CWFIS); the seven highest towns of 2,500 people or more.
The low band takes in 92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns, Blood 148 among them, though its rate is above zero; 7.5% rank higher.
Bands of the yearly burn rate: low under 0.05%, moderate under 0.25%, high under 1%, very high 1% or more; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Canadian Wildland Fire Information System: National Burned Area Composite 1986–2025 and fire behaviour fuel types (2026), Natural Resources Canada. Measured within 25 km and 5 km of each populated dissemination area; past fire, not a forecast.
3 flood studies cover Blood 148, the newest from Government of Alberta
Flood studies whose area touches Blood 148, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
The newest of 3 studies covering Blood 148 is Government of Alberta’s, from 2024; open its map to see the zones.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardston Flood Study | Government of Alberta | 2024 | final |
| Stand Off Flood Study | Government of Alberta | 2024 | final |
| Lethbridge Flood Hazard Study | Government of Alberta | 2007 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Its flood study sets Blood 148 apart in Alberta, where 46% of towns have one (Canada: 58%).
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
The 2020s brought the most flood studies for Blood 148 (2 of 3), the first dating from the 2000s.
Study dates as the NRCan inventory lists them, one count per study touching Blood 148.
Listed, not scored: a flood study proves a map exists, not that Blood 148 floods.
The inventory’s own caution (NRCan): “The Canada Flood Map (CFM) does not include every flood hazard map in Canada and may be incomplete or contain inaccuracies. It should not be relied upon as the official source of flood mapping information. Furthermore, if a map appears to be missing, this does not necessarily mean that the area has never been mapped. For the official version of a map, updated information, or confirmation of applicable regulations, please contact the local authority responsible for flood mapping.”
Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory; links go to each study’s owner.
Ordinary seismic risk in Blood 148: $0.045 per $1,000 of buildings a year
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
Blood 148’s $0.045 is close to the typical town’s $0.030 (1.5 times as much).
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Above the middle in Alberta: Blood 148’s $0.045 against a median of $0.013, with Black Diamond highest at $0.048.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Blood 148 sits above most of Canada’s 2,611 towns on earthquake risk; 32% are higher.
Each column: the share of Canada’s towns of 2,500 people or more in that range of yearly loss per $1,000 (NRCan, 2022).
Only shaking damage to buildings in Blood 148 is counted; landslides, liquefaction, tsunami and fire after a quake aren’t.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
Radon about average around Blood 148: 8.9% over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
Blood 148’s area sits close to the typical Canadian town: 8.9% over the guideline, against 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Around Blood 148, 8.9% of tests topped the guideline, close to the typical town in Alberta (7.5%); 0.9% were over 600.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Blood 148 is in the 5–10% band with 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; 26% have more.
Each bar: the share of Canada’s towns of 2,500 people or more whose survey area had that share of tests over 200 Bq/m³.
Neighbouring homes in Blood 148 can differ a lot; only a long-term test tells you about yours.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011). · Area behind the radon tests figures: the Chinook Regional Health Authority
Where to get warnings in Blood 148
Alerts for Blood 148 come from Environment and Climate Change Canada and, for emergencies, Alert Ready.
| Alert | What it means |
|---|---|
| Warning | Severe weather is happening or about to: act now. |
| Watch | Conditions favour severe weather: be ready. |
| Advisory | Weather that is less severe but could disrupt the day. |
| Special weather statement | Unusual weather worth knowing about. |
| Special air quality statement | Poor air, often wildfire smoke. |
Fire danger and active fires near Blood 148 are mapped daily by the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System; evacuation orders come from the municipality or province.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Hazards in the places around Blood 148
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blood 148 | Low | $0.045 | 8.9% | Yes |
| Cardston 3,863 · 17 km | Low | $0.034 | 8.9% | Yes |
| Cardston County 4,938 · 19 km | Moderate | $0.039 | 8.9% | Yes |
Cardston County has the most fire around it, a moderate band against Blood 148’s low.
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Blood 148 faces
What to do about the hazards Blood 148 faces, and what to ask before you buy.
- Test for three months in winter.
- Over 200 Bq/m³: fix it.
- Kits are cheap; pros test too.
- Never drive through floodwater.
- Move papers and medicines upstairs.
- Ask whether your street is mapped.
- Clear needles and wood nearby.
- Keep a grab-and-go bag ready.
- In smoke, stay in; filter air.
- Has it had a radon test?
- Check the address on the flood map.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Earthquakes are modelled. Seismic risk is NRCan’s model of yearly building losses from shaking, averaged over many years and given for Blood 148’s census subdivision (a neighbourhood shows its city’s).
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. A study’s area can be a whole watershed or province, so being on the inventory says a map exists, not that a home in Blood 148 floods.
- Radon is a survey. The radon share comes from about 14,000 long-term home tests in 2009–2011, pooled for now by the 2007 health region Blood 148 sits in.
- Wildfire counts one way. For Blood 148, wildfire means how much nearby land burned in the past forty years, a one-way input that can pull Risk down and nothing more.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Blood 148
Does Blood 148 flood?
Blood 148’s area has been studied for flooding, and the owner’s map shows which streets lie in a zone; the grade leaves flood out.
Is radon a problem in Blood 148?
In Health Canada’s survey, 8.9% of 112 homes tested in Blood 148’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
How big is the earthquake risk in Blood 148?
About $0.045 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for Blood 148.
Is Blood 148 at risk of wildfire?
Less than most of Canada: 1.3% of the land within 25 km of Blood 148 has burned since 1986, the last in 2012, a low band that leaves Risk alone.
How is Blood 148’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Blood 148’s Hazard risk grade is C+, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
Seismic risk: Natural Resources Canada. Radon: Health Canada. Wildfire: Canadian Wildland Fire Information System. Flood studies: Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Sources: NRCan, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model 2022 · Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes · CWFIS, National Burned Area Composite and FBP fuel types · NRCan, Canada Flood Map Inventory. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).