Photo: Shahnoor Habib Munmun · CC BY 3.0Radon is St. Andrews’ main hazard: 25% of tested homes in its area top Health Canada’s guideline
The burn rate around St. Andrews is 0.06% a year (1.9% of the land within 25 km since 1986), a moderate band. Shaking is less of a worry than in most places, at $0.005 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). Hazard risk gives St. Andrews a grade of B; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about St. Andrews’s hazards
For St. Andrews, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What St. Andrews faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in St. Andrews: B
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like St. Andrews with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
Its place: #141 of 185 in Manitoba and #1,472 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.
Some fire around St. Andrews: 1.9% of the land within 25 km since 1986, 0.6% within 5 km
Past fire around St. Andrews’ homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
At 0.06% of the land a year, St. Andrews’ burn rate is moderate; the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%.
Forest fuel is scarce around St. Andrews: 0.1% of the land within 5 km, 1.5% 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 Manitoba · highest of 189
St. Andrews ranks 18th of the 189 towns in Manitoba for burn rate, at 0.06% a year; Flin Flon (Part) leads with 1.68%.
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.
Moderate puts St. Andrews above most of Canada’s 2,610 towns, yet 2.1% rank high or very high and 5.4% share its band.
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 St. Andrews
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for St. Andrews: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
There is no study for St. Andrews on the national flood inventory, which is far from complete.
Towns with a flood study on file
Mapping in Manitoba reaches 18% of towns, below the 58% across Canada, and not St. Andrews.
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 St. Andrews’ 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 St. Andrews: $0.005 per $1,000 of buildings a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
St. Andrews’ $0.005 is a fraction of the typical town’s $0.030 (0.2 times as much): quiet ground by Canadian standards.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Earthquake risk around St. Andrews ($0.005) matches the middle in Manitoba ($0.006), far from Virden’s $0.007.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
St. Andrews is among Canada’s quietest towns for earthquakes: 96% of the 2,611 expect more damage.
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 St. Andrews 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).
Radon runs high around St. Andrews: 25% of tested homes over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · Measured across the Interlake health region: radon tests
More homes than usual test high around St. Andrews: 25% against 6.6% for the typical Canadian town.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
St. Andrews’ area, at 25%, is above the median in Manitoba (12%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Few of Canada’s 2,611 towns (3.1%) share the 20–30% band with St. Andrews, and 1.5% sit above it.
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 St. Andrews 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 St. Andrews
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for St. Andrews; 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. |
For fires near St. Andrews, the national fire information system maps danger and active fires daily; local authorities give any evacuation order.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How St. Andrews’ neighbours compare on hazards
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Andrews | Moderate | $0.005 | 25% | None listed |
| Selkirk 11,570 · 8.1 km | Moderate | $0.005 | 25% | None listed |
| St. Clements 12,029 · 10 km | Moderate | $0.005 | 25% | None listed |
| Stony Mountain 9,180 · 18 km | Low | $0.005 | 25% | None listed |
| West St. Paul 10,796 · 19 km | Low | $0.006 | 12% | None listed |
Selkirk burns a little more than St. Andrews, 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 St. Andrews faces
What to do about the hazards St. Andrews 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. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, St. Andrews takes its 2007 health region’s share.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, St. Andrews’ included.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. The flood inventory points to maps; it is incomplete and not the official source, so ask the municipality about any street in St. Andrews.
- Wildfire counts one way. Burned land within 25 km of where people live, averaged over 1986–2025 and checked for fuel near homes, is the measure; it looks back, not ahead, and only ever counts against St. Andrews.
Questions about flooding and hazards in St. Andrews
How is St. Andrews’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
St. Andrews grades B for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Does St. Andrews flood?
Nothing is listed for St. Andrews on the national inventory (0); local maps may still exist with the municipality.
Is St. Andrews at risk of wildfire?
Less than most of Canada: 1.9% of the land within 25 km of St. Andrews has burned since 1986, the last in 2025, a moderate band that leaves Risk alone.
How big is the earthquake risk in St. Andrews?
In NRCan’s seismic model, St. Andrews’ buildings lose $0.005 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
Is radon a problem in St. Andrews?
In Health Canada’s survey, 25% of 121 homes tested in St. Andrews’ 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).