Photo: The original uploader was DataSatan at English Wikipedia . · Public domainTwo Hills County No. 21 faces fewer hazards than 98% of Canadian towns
Since 1986 almost nothing has burned near Two Hills County No. 21: 0% of the land within 25 km, or 0.000% a year. Earthquakes matter little: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.005 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. Radon is about average around Two Hills County No. 21: 5.2% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town. Hazard risk gives Two Hills County No. 21 a grade of A+; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about Two Hills County No. 21’s hazards
For Two Hills County No. 21, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Two Hills County No. 21 faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Two Hills County No. 21: A+
The grade weighs Two Hills County No. 21’s seismic risk and radon equally, and wildfire is one-sided: a high band counts against a town, a low one earns nothing.
Its place: #9 of 474 in Alberta and #20 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.
Wildfire is rare near Two Hills County No. 21: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Two Hills County No. 21’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
A burn rate of 0.000% a year keeps Two Hills County No. 21 in the low band (the typical Canadian town: 0.000%).
Only 0.6% of the land within 25 km of Two Hills County No. 21 is forest fuel, and 0.6% close in.
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
Little or nothing burns around Two Hills County No. 21 in a typical year; 386 of the 478 towns in Alberta share that, and Wainwright leads 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.
92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns are in the low band and 7.5% above it; Two Hills County No. 21 is among the many where the yearly burn rate 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 Two Hills County No. 21
Flood studies whose area touches Two Hills County No. 21, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
NRCan’s inventory is silent on Two Hills County No. 21, so any flood map would be the municipality’s own.
Towns with a flood study on file
Only 46% of towns in Alberta have a flood study, short of Canada’s 58%, and Two Hills County No. 21 is not among them.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
The grade leaves flood out, since a study area says nothing about how many of Two Hills County No. 21’s homes are at risk.
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.”
Low seismic risk in Two Hills County No. 21: $0.005 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.
0.2 times the typical $0.030: Two Hills County No. 21’s $0.005 is low for Canada.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
The typical town in Alberta expects $0.013 a year in shaking damage; Two Hills County No. 21 expects less, $0.005, and Black Diamond the most, $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.
Nearly every one of Canada’s 2,611 towns (96%) expects more shaking damage than Two Hills County No. 21.
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 Two Hills County No. 21 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).
Some radon around Two Hills County No. 21: 5.2% of area homes over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline. · Source area for radon tests: the East Central Health
At 5.2% over the guideline, the area around Two Hills County No. 21 is about level with the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Two Hills County No. 21’s area, at 5.2%, is below the median in Alberta (7.5%), though 1% of its tests passed 600 Bq/m³.
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 Two Hills County No. 21’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.
A low area share in Two Hills County No. 21 doesn’t clear a house, nor does a high one condemn it: test.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Two Hills County No. 21
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Two Hills County No. 21; 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 Two Hills County No. 21, and listen to local authorities for orders.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Two Hills County No. 21’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two Hills County No. 21 | Low | $0.005 | 5.2% | None listed |
| Two Hills 1,698 · 9.5 km | Low | $0.005 | 5.2% | None listed |
Two Hills County No. 21’s low band tops its neighbours; Two Hills is next (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Two Hills County No. 21 faces
What to do about the hazards Two Hills County No. 21 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. About 14,000 homes were tested across Canada in 2009–2011, and the share over the guideline for Two Hills County No. 21 is its health region’s, the survey’s design unit.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. NRCan’s inventory says where flood mapping exists, not where water goes; the map’s owner is the authority for Two Hills County No. 21.
- Wildfire counts one way. For Two Hills County No. 21, wildfire means how much nearby land burned in the past forty years, a one-way input that can pull Risk down and nothing more.
- Earthquakes are modelled. Seismic risk is NRCan’s model of yearly building losses from shaking, averaged over many years and given for Two Hills County No. 21’s census subdivision (a neighbourhood shows its city’s).
Questions about flooding and hazards in Two Hills County No. 21
Is Two Hills County No. 21 at risk of wildfire?
Very little by the national record: Two Hills County No. 21’s band is low, with 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, so wildfire doesn’t change its grade.
Is radon a problem in Two Hills County No. 21?
Around Two Hills County No. 21, 97 survey homes were tested and 5.2% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
How big is the earthquake risk in Two Hills County No. 21?
Expected earthquake damage in Two Hills County No. 21 comes to $0.005 a year for each $1,000 that buildings are worth.
Does Two Hills County No. 21 flood?
With 0 studies on the inventory, Two Hills County No. 21’s flood risk is unmapped nationally; check with the municipality before buying.
How is Two Hills County No. 21’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Two Hills County No. 21 grades A+ 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).