Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainShaking costs buildings in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley $0.37 a year per $1,000 of value, 12 times the typical town’s
Burn scars are few around Electoral Area A, Comox Valley, with 0.2% of the land within 25 km touched by fire since 1986 (0.005% 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 A, Comox Valley a grade of B−; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Electoral Area A, Comox Valley: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Electoral Area A, Comox Valley faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Electoral Area A, Comox Valley grades B− for hazard risk
The grade weighs Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’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: #107 of 254 in British Columbia and #1,605 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.
Few fires near Electoral Area A, Comox Valley: 0% within 5 km, 0.2% within 25 km
Past fire around Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
A burn rate of 0.005% a year keeps Electoral Area A, Comox Valley in the low band (the typical Canadian town: 0.000%).
Fire has stayed at least 9.7 km from Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’s homes since 1986.
71% of the land within 5 km of Electoral Area A, Comox Valley is forest fuel, close to the 70% 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
Electoral Area A, Comox Valley sits mid-table in British Columbia: 121st of 255 towns, at 0.005% a year, well 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.
The low band takes in 92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns, Electoral Area A, Comox Valley among them, though its rate is above zero; 7.5% 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 A, Comox Valley
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Electoral Area A, Comox Valley: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
NRCan’s inventory is silent on Electoral Area A, Comox Valley, so any flood map would be the municipality’s own.
Towns with a flood study on file
Flood maps are common in British Columbia, 76% of towns against 58% nationally, but none in the inventory touches Electoral Area A, Comox Valley.
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 A, Comox Valley.
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.”
Earthquakes cost buildings in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley $0.37 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
At $0.37 per $1,000, Electoral Area A, Comox Valley carries roughly 12.2 times the typical Canadian town’s earthquake risk ($0.030).
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Neither high nor low in British Columbia: Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’s $0.37 sits by the median of $0.36, while Duncan reaches $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.
Only 4.7% of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than Electoral Area A, Comox Valley.
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 model counts damage to Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’s buildings and their occupants from shaking only: not liquefaction, landslides, tsunami or fires after a quake.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
Little radon around Electoral Area A, Comox Valley: 0.9% of area homes over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · The radon tests numbers here cover the North Vancouver Island health region
At 0.9% over the guideline, the area around Electoral Area A, Comox Valley is under the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’s area, at 0.9%, is below the median 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 A, Comox Valley; 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.
One home in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley can be high while next door is low; a three-month test settles it.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Weather and fire alerts for Electoral Area A, Comox Valley
Alerts for Electoral Area A, Comox Valley 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. |
Evacuation orders for Electoral Area A, Comox Valley come from the municipality or the province, while CWFIS maps fire danger every day.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, Comox Valley | Low | $0.37 | 0.9% | None listed |
| Cumberland 4,974 · 11 km | Low | $0.41 | 0.9% | None listed |
| Comox 15,884 · 13 km | Low | $0.49 | 0.9% | Yes |
| Courtenay 32,869 · 15 km | Low | $0.39 | 0.9% | Yes |
| Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley 7,830 · 17 km | Low | $0.41 | 0.9% | Yes |
Fire is no heavier anywhere nearby than around Electoral Area A, Comox Valley (low), with Cumberland next at low.
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Electoral Area A, Comox Valley faces
What to do about the hazards Electoral Area A, Comox Valley 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?
- Ask the municipality for flood maps.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
- Is earthquake cover included?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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 A, Comox Valley’s.
- 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 A, Comox Valley floods.
- 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 A, Comox Valley sits in.
- Wildfire counts one way. The wildfire figure is the share of land within 25 km of Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’s homes burned each year from 1986 to 2025, past fire rather than a forecast, and it can only lower Risk.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley
Is Electoral Area A, Comox Valley at risk of wildfire?
Less than most of Canada: 0.2% of the land within 25 km of Electoral Area A, Comox Valley has burned since 1986, the last in 2025, a low band that leaves Risk alone.
How big is the earthquake risk in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’s buildings lose $0.37 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
How is Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’s Hazard risk grade is B−, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
Does Electoral Area A, Comox Valley flood?
Nothing is listed for Electoral Area A, Comox Valley on the national inventory (0); local maps may still exist with the municipality.
Is radon a problem in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley?
In Health Canada’s survey, 0.9% of 106 homes tested in Electoral Area A, Comox Valley’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
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).