Photo: Amakuha · CC BY 4.0Hazards in River East: wildfire low, radon over the guideline in 12% of tested homes
No wildfire is mapped within 25 km of River East’s homes since 1986 (0% of the land, 0.001% a year). Seismic risk runs low: $0.006 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. Hazard risk gives River East a grade of B+; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about River East’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for River East: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What River East faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
River East grades B+ for hazard risk
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like River East with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
Its place: #10 of 185 in Manitoba and #940 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. Only 66 homes were tested in the survey area, so the radon share is rough. Small fires and grass fires are largely missing from the national burned-area record.
Little of the land around River East has burned: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km since 1986
Past fire around River East’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
Around River East fire takes 0.001% of the land in a typical year, the typical Canadian town 0.000%, which is low.
River East’s homes have had no fire within 5 km since 1986; the closest was 12 km away.
Forest makes up 0% of the land within 5 km of River East and 0.1% within 25 km, little for a forest fire to run through.
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
Flin Flon (Part) burns fastest in Manitoba at 1.68% a year; River East, at 0.001%, ranks 31st of 189.
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 River East 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.
The flood map inventory lists nothing for River East
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for River East: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
There is no study for River East on the national flood inventory, which is far from complete.
Towns with a flood study on file
Only 18% of towns in Manitoba have a flood study, short of Canada’s 58%, and River East is not among them.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Nothing here counts toward Risk; the studies are pointers to the maps their owners keep for River East.
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 River East: $0.006 per $1,000 of buildings a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
River East’s $0.006 is a fraction of the typical town’s $0.030 (0.2 times as much): quiet ground by Canadian standards.
Nobody publishes earthquake risk for River East alone, so this card uses the figure for the city of Winnipeg.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Earthquake risk around River East ($0.006) 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.
88% of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than River East.
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 River East’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).
12% of homes tested around River East are over the radon guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · Area-wide: radon tests, counted over the Winnipeg health region
More homes than usual test high around River East: 12% against 6.6% for the typical Canadian town.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Around River East, 12% of tests topped the guideline, about the same as the typical town in Manitoba (12%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
One test in ten or more tops the guideline around River East, as in 22% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; 4.6% go 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.
Basements, soil and how a house is sealed decide its radon, so in River East only a test can say.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Weather and fire alerts for River East
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for River East; 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 River East 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 River East
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| River East | Low | $0.006 | 12% | None listed |
| Valhalla 3,153 · 1.4 km | Low | $0.006 | 12% | None listed |
| Springfield North 8,327 · 1.6 km | Low | $0.006 | 12% | None listed |
| Rossmere-A 13,613 · 1.7 km | Low | $0.006 | 12% | None listed |
| Rivergrove 2,742 · 2.1 km | Low | $0.006 | 12% | None listed |
| Riverbend 5,453 · 2.6 km | Low | $0.006 | 12% | None listed |
| Kildonan Drive 5,063 · 2.9 km | Low | $0.006 | 12% | None listed |
Fire is no heavier anywhere nearby than around River East (low), with Valhalla next at low.
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what River East faces
What to do about the hazards River East 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.
- Clear needles and wood nearby.
- Keep a grab-and-go bag ready.
- In smoke, stay in; filter air.
- Has it had a radon test?
- Ask the municipality for flood maps.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
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 River East floods.
- Wildfire counts one way. The wildfire figure is the share of land within 25 km of River East’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 River East’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 River East sits in.
Questions about flooding and hazards in River East
Is River East at risk of wildfire?
Less than most of Canada: 0% of the land within 25 km of River East has burned since 1986, the last in 2012, a low band that leaves Risk alone.
How is River East’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Hazard risk gives River East B+, weighing earthquakes and radon and counting wildfire only against it.
How big is the earthquake risk in River East?
NRCan’s model expects shaking to cost buildings in River East $0.006 a year for every $1,000 of their value, on average over many years.
Is radon a problem in River East?
In Health Canada’s survey, 12% of 66 homes tested in River East’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
Does River East flood?
Nothing is listed for River East on the national inventory (0); local maps may still exist with the municipality.
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).