Photo: jockrutherford from Owen Sound, ON · CC BY-SA 2.0A flood study covers Altadore: 1 on the national inventory, the newest from Government of Alberta
Wildfire isn’t Altadore’s worry: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986 (0.000% a year). NRCan expects $0.023 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in Altadore, near the typical $0.030. In Health Canada’s survey, 8.1% of homes tested in Altadore’s area exceeded 200 Bq/m³, close to the typical 6.6%. Altadore grades B+ for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Altadore’s hazards
For Altadore, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Altadore faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Altadore: B+
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Altadore with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
Its place: #282 of 474 in Alberta and #1,102 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
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.
Few fires near Altadore: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km
Past fire around Altadore’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
A burn rate of 0.000% a year keeps Altadore in the low band (the typical Canadian town: 0.000%).
No fire has burned within 5 km of Altadore’s homes since 1986; the nearest burn is 9.8 km away.
Forest fuel is scarce around Altadore: 0.3% of the land within 5 km, 1.6% 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 478
Fire has taken almost none of the land around Altadore, as for 386 of the 478 towns in Alberta; Wainwright tops the list 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.
Most of the country’s 2,610 towns are low-band (92%, against 7.5% above); around Altadore, burning rounds to zero.
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.
Government of Alberta has mapped flooding for Altadore (1 study)
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Altadore: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
A 2025 study by Government of Alberta covers Altadore, and its map, not the inventory, shows the zones.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bow and Elbow River Flood Study | Government of Alberta | 2025 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Altadore is one of the 46% of towns in Alberta with a flood study on file, fewer than Canada’s 58%.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Flood is shown here, never graded: a study says where a map exists, not how many of Altadore’s homes stand in a flood zone.
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.
Expected shaking damage in Altadore: $0.023 a year per $1,000
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
Earthquake losses in Altadore, $0.023 per $1,000, are in line with the typical $0.030 (0.8 times).
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Above the middle in Alberta: Altadore’s $0.023 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.
Altadore sits mid-range among Canada’s 2,611 towns: 54% expect more shaking damage.
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).
For Altadore the model prices shaking damage to buildings, nothing more.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean). · Earthquake risk published for the city of Calgary, not by town
Radon about average around Altadore: 8.1% over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline.
Near the middle for radon: Altadore’s area 8.1%, the typical Canadian town 6.6%. Nobody publishes radon tests for Altadore alone, so this card uses the figure for the Calgary Health Region.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Altadore’s area, at 8.1%, is close to the median in Alberta (7.5%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
A middling share of high tests puts Altadore with 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns, below 26% of them.
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.
Health Canada advises testing every home, Altadore’s included, whatever the area’s figure.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Altadore
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Altadore; Alert Ready carries the urgent ones to phones, radio and TV.
| 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. |
In fire season, check CWFIS for danger and active fires around Altadore, and listen to local authorities for orders.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Altadore’s neighbours compare on hazards
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altadore | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | Yes |
| Garrison Woods 3,138 · 0.7 km | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | None listed |
| South Calgary 4,412 · 1.2 km | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | Yes |
| Richmond 4,811 · 1.4 km | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | Yes |
| Elbow Park 4,120 · 1.8 km | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | Yes |
| Bankview 5,610 · 1.8 km | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | Yes |
| Upper Mount Royal 2,758 · 2.1 km | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | Yes |
None of the places around has more fire nearby than Altadore (low); Garrison Woods comes closest (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Altadore faces
What to do about the hazards Altadore 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
- 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 Altadore floods.
- Wildfire counts one way. Burned land within 25 km of where people live, averaged over 1986–2025 and checked for fuel near homes, is the measure; it looks back, not ahead, and only ever counts against Altadore.
- 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 Altadore sits in.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Altadore’s included.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Altadore
How is Altadore’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Altadore grades B+ for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Does Altadore flood?
Altadore’s area has been studied for flooding, and the owner’s map shows which streets lie in a zone; the grade leaves flood out.
How big is the earthquake risk in Altadore?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Altadore’s buildings lose $0.023 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
Is radon a problem in Altadore?
Around Altadore, 86 survey homes were tested and 8.1% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
Is Altadore at risk of wildfire?
Fire has reached 0% of the land around Altadore since 1986 (last in 2014); at low, it neither helps nor hurts the grade.
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).