Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domain20% of homes tested in Shediac’s area are above the radon guideline
Burn scars are few around Shediac, with 0.1% of the land within 25 km touched by fire since 1986 (0.002% a year). Seismic risk in Shediac sits near the middle: $0.036 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. Hazard risk gives Shediac a grade of C−, from earthquakes and radon alone.
What stands out about Shediac’s hazards
For Shediac, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Shediac faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Shediac: C−
Seismic risk and radon set Shediac’s grade, wildfire can drag it down, and flood mapping stays out of it.
Its place: #33 of 60 in New Brunswick and #2,352 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. The burned-area record misses fires under about 10 ha and most grass and farm fires.
Little of the land around Shediac has burned: 0% within 5 km, 0.1% within 25 km since 1986
Past fire around Shediac’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
Low: the land around Shediac burns at 0.002% a year, where the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%.
The closest burn since 1986 lies 9.2 km from Shediac’s homes, none within 5 km.
Forest fuel is spread evenly around Shediac: 61% within 5 km, 66% 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 New Brunswick · highest of 60
Shediac sits mid-table in New Brunswick: 30th of 60 towns, at 0.002% a year, well behind Tracadie (0.28%).
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, Shediac 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.
Shediac is on the flood map inventory: 1 study, by Service New Brunswick - GeoNB
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Shediac: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
For Shediac the inventory points to Service New Brunswick - GeoNB’s 2020 study, whose map is the one to check.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inland Flood Mapping in New Brunswick and Updated Sea-Level Rise and Flooding Estimates for New Brunswick Coastal Sections 2020 | Service New Brunswick - GeoNB | 2020 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Flood maps are common in New Brunswick: 93% of towns have one, against 58% nationally, and Shediac is among them.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Flood mapping is shown for Shediac to be opened and checked, never turned into a grade.
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 Shediac $0.036 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
Nothing unusual about Shediac’s ground: $0.036 against a typical $0.030, 1.2 times.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Earthquake risk around Shediac ($0.036) matches the middle in New Brunswick ($0.036), far from St. Stephen’s $0.16.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Neither high nor low for Canada: 46% of the 2,611 towns expect more damage than Shediac.
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).
For Shediac the model prices shaking damage to buildings, nothing more.
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 Shediac: 20% of area homes were over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · Measured across the Region 1 health region: radon tests
the typical Canadian town has 6.6% over the guideline; Shediac’s area has 20%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Ordinary for towns in New Brunswick at 20% over 200 Bq/m³ (20% is the median), the area around Shediac had 3.7% over 600.
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 Shediac, 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.
Neighbouring homes in Shediac can differ a lot; only a long-term test tells you about yours.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Shediac
Alerts for Shediac 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 Shediac 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 Shediac’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shediac | Low | $0.036 | 20% | Yes |
| Shediac 9,849 · 3.6 km | Low | $0.032 | 20% | Yes |
| Dundas 4,733 · 9.9 km | Low | $0.033 | 20% | Yes |
| Cocagne 2,982 · 16 km | Low | $0.035 | 20% | Yes |
| Beaubassin East / Beaubassin-est 8,138 · 18 km | Low | $0.034 | 20% | Yes |
| Dieppe 35,986 · 19 km | Low | $0.033 | 20% | Yes |
Among its neighbours Shediac has the most fire on record (low); Dundas follows (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Shediac faces
Practical steps for Shediac’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.
- Clear needles and wood nearby.
- Keep a grab-and-go bag ready.
- In smoke, stay in; filter air.
- Has it had a radon test?
- Check the address on the flood map.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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 Shediac.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. Flood studies cover areas of every size, which is why the page lists them for Shediac without grading them.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Shediac’s included.
- Radon is a survey. Radon figures pool the survey’s home tests by area: postal areas once their boundaries arrive, the 2007 health region around Shediac until then.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Shediac
Is Shediac at risk of wildfire?
Not much by Canadian standards: Shediac’s band is low, with 0.1% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986 (last in 2025), so wildfire doesn’t change its grade.
Does Shediac flood?
A flood study covers Shediac on Canada’s Flood Map Inventory; open the owner’s map to check a street, since flood isn’t graded.
How big is the earthquake risk in Shediac?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Shediac’s buildings lose $0.036 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
Is radon a problem in Shediac?
20% of the 107 homes Health Canada tested around Shediac topped the guideline; your own house needs its own test.
How is Shediac’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Shediac grades C− for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the 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).