Photo: Kristina D.C. Hoeppner from Wellington, New Zealand · CC BY-SA 2.0Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot has one of Canada’s highest earthquake risks: $0.46 a year per $1,000, 15 times the typical town’s
Burn scars are few around Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot, with 0.1% of the land within 25 km touched by fire since 1986 (0.003% a year). In Health Canada’s survey, just 0.9% of homes tested in the area exceeded 200 Bq/m³ (6.6% typical). Hazard risk gives Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot a grade of B−; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot: B−
The grade weighs Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot’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. Small fires and grass fires are largely missing from the national burned-area record.
Wildfire is rare near Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot: 0.1% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
A burn rate of 0.003% a year keeps Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot in the low band (the typical Canadian town: 0.000%).
Since 1986 the nearest fire to Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot’s homes came within 10 km, never inside 5 km.
Forest fuel is spread evenly around Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot: 98% within 5 km, 96% 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 British Columbia · highest of 256
Oliver tops the 256 towns in British Columbia at 0.98% a year; Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot, at 0.003%, comes 191st.
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.
Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot is in the low band with 92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns; 7.5% sit in moderate or 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.
Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot is on the flood map inventory: 3 studies, latest by District of Tofino
Flood studies whose area touches Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
For Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot the inventory points to 3 studies, most recently District of Tofino’s in 2023.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast Probabilistic Earthquake and Tsunami Risk Assessment | District of Tofino | 2023 | final · not public |
| District of Ucluelet Coastal Flood Mapping | District of Ucluelet | 2020 | final |
| District of Tofino Coastal Flood Mapping | District of Tofino | 2019 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
76% of towns in British Columbia have a flood study, more than Canada’s 58%; Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot has one too.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Mapping around Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot goes back to the 2010s and peaks in the 2020s, with 2 of its 3 studies.
Study dates as the NRCan inventory lists them, one count per study touching Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot.
Nothing here counts toward Risk; the studies are pointers to the maps their owners keep for Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot.
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.
High seismic risk in Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot: $0.46 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.
The typical town loses $0.030 a year to shaking; Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot loses $0.46, 15.3 times as much.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
At $0.46, Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot is above the typical town in British Columbia ($0.36); Duncan has the most at $1.33.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot is in the top tenth of Canada’s 2,611 towns for earthquake risk; 2.9% rank 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).
The loss is to Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot’s buildings alone, from ground shaking; infrastructure and secondary hazards are left out.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
Radon runs low around Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot: 0.9% of tested homes over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot’s survey area reads 0.9% over the guideline, under the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Fewer homes top the guideline around Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot (0.9%) than in the typical town in British Columbia (1.8%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
The quietest radon band, under 5%, holds 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns and Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot; 63% sit higher.
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 survey sample isn’t a map: any home in Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot can be high, and a three-month test is the only way to know.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011). · Radon tests: the Central Vancouver Island health region
Weather and fire alerts for Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot; 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. |
Smoke and fire warnings for Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot come through Environment Canada and Alert Ready; the fire map is CWFIS’s.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Hazards in the places around Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot | Low | $0.46 | 0.9% | Yes |
| Ucluelet 2,452 · 13 km | Low | $0.40 | 0.9% | Yes |
Among its neighbours Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot has the most fire on record (low); Ucluelet follows (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot faces
What to do about the hazards Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap the water heater down.
- Keep 72 hours of supplies.
- Has it had a radon test?
- Check the address on the flood map.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
- Is earthquake cover included?
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 Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot floods.
- Earthquakes are modelled. Shaking damage is modelled from the ground, the buildings and the odds of each quake, and published for whole subdivisions such as Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot’s.
- Wildfire counts one way. The wildfire figure is the share of land within 25 km of Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot’s homes burned each year from 1986 to 2025, past fire rather than a forecast, and it can only lower Risk.
- 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 Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot sits in.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot
Is radon a problem in Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot?
Around Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot, 109 survey homes were tested and 0.9% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
How is Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot grades B− for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Does Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot flood?
Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot’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 Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot?
About $0.46 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot.
Is Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot at risk of wildfire?
Fire has reached 0.1% of the land around Electoral Area C, Alberni-Clayoquot since 1986 (last in 1989); 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).