Wildfire low, radon 8.1%: how Marlborough stands on hazards
Wildfire barely registers for Marlborough, at 0% of the land within 25 km since 1986 (0.000% a year). For earthquakes Marlborough is middling, $0.023 a year per $1,000 against $0.030 for the typical town. Marlborough grades B+ for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Marlborough’s hazards
For Marlborough, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Marlborough faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Marlborough grades B+ for hazard risk
Two inputs always count for Marlborough, earthquakes and radon; the third, wildfire, counts only against a town.
Its place: #282 of 474 in Alberta and #1,102 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: Earthquake losses are a model’s expectation over many years, not a forecast for any one. The burned-area record misses fires under about 10 ha and most grass and farm fires.
Little of the land around Marlborough has burned: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km since 1986
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Marlborough’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
Forty years of fire maps put Marlborough at 0.000% a year, low next to the typical Canadian town’s 0.000%.
No fire has burned within 5 km of Marlborough’s homes since 1986; the nearest burn is 18 km away.
Land that isn’t forest covers nearly all the ground around Marlborough: forest fuel is 0% within 5 km and 0.5% 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
To three decimals the burn rate around Marlborough is zero, as for 386 of the 478 towns in Alberta, while Wainwright reaches 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 Marlborough, 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.
No flood study is listed for Marlborough
Flood studies whose area touches Marlborough, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
There is no study for Marlborough on the national flood inventory, which is far from complete.
Towns with a flood study on file
No study touches Marlborough; in Alberta, 46% of towns have one, below 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 Marlborough’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.”
Ordinary seismic risk in Marlborough: $0.023 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.
At $0.023 per $1,000, Marlborough’s earthquake risk is about the typical Canadian town’s ($0.030; 0.8 times).
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Marlborough’s $0.023 tops the median in Alberta, $0.013, though Black Diamond reaches $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.
Middle of the pack: 54% of Canada’s 2,611 towns have more earthquake risk than Marlborough.
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 Marlborough 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). · Area behind the earthquake risk figures: the city of Calgary
8.1% of homes tested around Marlborough are over the radon guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline. · Area-wide: radon tests, counted over the Calgary Health Region
Around Marlborough, 8.1% of tested homes topped the guideline, near the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Radon around Marlborough is ordinary for towns in Alberta: 8.1%, beside a median of 7.5%.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
26% of Canada’s 2,611 towns have more homes over 200 Bq/m³ than Marlborough’s 5–10% band, which holds 37%.
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.
Radon varies from house to house in Marlborough, so the survey is a reason to test, not a result for yours.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Marlborough
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Marlborough; 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 Marlborough, and listen to local authorities for orders.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Hazards in the places around Marlborough
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlborough | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | None listed |
| Forest Heights 6,120 · 1.3 km | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | None listed |
| Marlborough Park 8,378 · 1.5 km | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | None listed |
| Rundle 10,549 · 1.6 km | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | None listed |
| Albert Park/Radisson Heights 8,433 · 2.4 km | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | Yes |
| Pineridge 10,062 · 2.4 km | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | None listed |
| Penbrooke Meadows 10,001 · 2.5 km | Low | $0.023 | 8.1% | None listed |
None of the places around has more fire nearby than Marlborough (low); Forest Heights comes closest (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Marlborough faces
What to do about the hazards Marlborough 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?
- Ask the municipality for flood maps.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, Marlborough takes its 2007 health region’s share.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Marlborough’s included.
- 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 Marlborough.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. The flood inventory points to maps; it is incomplete and not the official source, so ask the municipality about any street in Marlborough.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Marlborough
How big is the earthquake risk in Marlborough?
About $0.023 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for Marlborough.
Does Marlborough flood?
Nothing is listed for Marlborough on the national inventory (0); local maps may still exist with the municipality.
Is radon a problem in Marlborough?
In Health Canada’s survey, 8.1% of 86 homes tested in Marlborough’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
Is Marlborough at risk of wildfire?
Less than most of Canada: 0% of the land within 25 km of Marlborough has burned since 1986, the last in 2014, a low band that leaves Risk alone.
How is Marlborough’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Marlborough grades B+ for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers 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).