Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainShaking costs buildings in Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley $0.38 a year per $1,000 of value, 13 times the typical town’s
Little of the land around Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley has burned: 0% within 25 km since 1986, or 0.001% a year. Fewer homes than usual carry radon here, 0.9% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley grades B− for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley 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 (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley: B−
Seismic risk and radon set Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s grade, wildfire can drag it down, and flood mapping stays out of it.
Its place: #108 of 254 in British Columbia and #1,607 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.
Little of the land around Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley has burned: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km since 1986
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
Low: the land around Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley burns at 0.001% a year, where the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%.
Forest fuel covers 53% of the land close to Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley and 63% across 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
Some fire is mapped around Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley (0.001% a year), but it ranks only 239th of 255 towns in British Columbia; Oliver has 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.
Low, like 92% of the country’s 2,610 towns: the land around Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley burns, but slower than in the 7.5% above it.
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.
Flooding around Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley is mapped in 2 studies, the newest by Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
Flood studies whose area touches Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and others have studied flooding in areas that include Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley: 2 studies, the latest from 1991.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Courtenay, Puntledge and Tsolum River Floodplain Mapping | Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy | 1991 | final |
| Oyster River Floodplain Mapping | Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy | 1984 | 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 (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley has one too.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
The 2 studies touching Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley are spread over time, from the 1980s to the 1990s.
Study dates as the NRCan inventory lists them, one count per study touching Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley.
The grade leaves flood out, since a study area says nothing about how many of Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’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.”
Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory; links go to each study’s owner.
Earthquakes cost buildings in Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley $0.38 per $1,000 a year
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s $0.38 is about 12.5 times the typical town’s $0.030: it sits in one of Canada’s more active seismic zones.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s $0.38 is close to the median in British Columbia, $0.36; Duncan is highest 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.
Only 4.7% of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), 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).
Roads, pipes and bridges aren’t in Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s figure, nor landslides or tsunami: it is buildings and shaking.
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 C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley: 0.9% of area homes over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
At 0.9% over the guideline, the area around Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley is under the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Radon runs lower around Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley than in most towns in British Columbia: 0.9% against 1.8%.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
63% of Canada’s 2,611 towns have a higher share of homes over 200 Bq/m³ than Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s 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.
The survey sampled homes around Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley; it can’t tell you your basement’s level.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011). · Radon tests: one figure for all of the North Vancouver Island health region
Weather and fire alerts for Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley; 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 Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley, and listen to local authorities for orders.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley | Low | $0.38 | 0.9% | Yes |
| Courtenay 32,869 · 12 km | Low | $0.39 | 0.9% | Yes |
| Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley 7,830 · 13 km | Low | $0.41 | 0.9% | Yes |
| Comox 15,884 · 16 km | Low | $0.49 | 0.9% | Yes |
| Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake), Strathcona 4,546 · 17 km | Low | $0.34 | 0.9% | Yes |
| Cumberland 4,974 · 18 km | Low | $0.41 | 0.9% | None listed |
Among its neighbours Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley has the most fire on record (low); Courtenay follows (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley faces
Practical steps for Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s hazards, most pressing first.
- 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
- Wildfire counts one way. The wildfire figure is the share of land within 25 km of Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s homes burned each year from 1986 to 2025, past fire rather than a forecast, and it can only lower Risk.
- 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 (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s.
- 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 (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley sits in.
- 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 (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley floods.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley
Is radon a problem in Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley?
0.9% of the 106 homes Health Canada tested around Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley topped the guideline; your own house needs its own test.
How big is the earthquake risk in Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley?
About $0.38 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley.
How is Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley grades B− for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Does Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley flood?
Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s area has been studied for flooding, and the owner’s map shows which streets lie in a zone; the grade leaves flood out.
Is Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley at risk of wildfire?
Not much by Canadian standards: Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley’s band is low, with 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986 (last in 2025), so wildfire doesn’t change its 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).