Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domain29% of homes tested in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s area are above the radon guideline
Fire reaches the land around Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay now and then: 6.6% within 25 km since 1986 (0.17% a year), below the high band. Seismic risk runs low: $0.007 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay grades C+ for hazard risk, with wildfire counted against it.
What stands out about Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay grades C+ for hazard risk
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
Its place: #183 of 254 in British Columbia and #1,796 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
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.
A moderate wildfire record for Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay: 6.6% within 25 km burned, 0.4% within 5 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
The yearly burn rate around Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay is 0.17%, above 0.000% for the typical Canadian town but under the high band.
Forest fuel is denser close to Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay (82% within 5 km) than further out (71% 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 255
At 0.17% a year, Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay is near the top in British Columbia: 41st of 255, behind Oliver (0.98%).
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 E, Central Kootenay is in the moderate band, which holds 5.4% of Canada’s 2,610 towns; 2.1% 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.
The flood map inventory lists nothing for Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay
Flood studies whose area touches Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
Nationally, Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay has no listed flood study; the municipality is the place to ask.
Towns with a flood study on file
Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay has no flood study on file, though 76% of towns in British Columbia do (Canada: 58%).
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Flood studies don’t enter the grade; they are listed so you can open the official map for Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay.
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 Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay: $0.007 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: Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s $0.007 is low for Canada.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
The typical town in British Columbia expects $0.36 a year in shaking damage; Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay expects less, $0.007, and Duncan the most, $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.
88% of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay.
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 E, Central Kootenay’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).
Test for radon in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay: 29% of area homes were over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline. · Measured across the Kootenay/Boundary health region: radon tests
Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s survey area reads 29% over the guideline, well past the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s area, at 29%, is above the median in British Columbia (1.8%), and 7.3% 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.
Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay is in the 20–30% band, which holds only 3.1% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; 1.5% are 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 E, Central Kootenay 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).
Weather and fire alerts for Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay
Alerts for Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay 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 Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay 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)
How Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay | Moderate | $0.007 | 29% | None listed |
| Nelson 12,126 · 3.2 km | Moderate | $0.007 | 29% | None listed |
| Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay 4,209 · 7.5 km | Moderate | $0.007 | 29% | None listed |
Nelson burns a little more than Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay, in the same moderate band (moderate here).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay faces
What to do about the hazards Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay faces, and what to ask before you buy.
- Clear needles and wood nearby.
- Keep a grab-and-go bag ready.
- In smoke, stay in; filter air.
- 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.
- Has it had a radon test?
- Ask the municipality for flood maps.
- How close is the forest edge?
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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 E, Central Kootenay sits in.
- Wildfire counts one way. The wildfire figure is the share of land within 25 km of Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s homes burned each year from 1986 to 2025, past fire rather than a forecast, and it can only lower Risk.
- 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 E, Central Kootenay 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 E, Central Kootenay’s.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay
Does Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay flood?
With 0 studies on the inventory, Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s flood risk is unmapped nationally; check with the municipality before buying.
How big is the earthquake risk in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay?
About $0.007 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay.
How is Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay’s Hazard risk grade is C+, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
Is Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay at risk of wildfire?
Fire has reached 6.6% of the land around Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay since 1986 (last in 2025); at moderate, it neither helps nor hurts the grade.
Is radon a problem in Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay?
Around Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay, 109 survey homes were tested and 29% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
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).