Photo: Tango7174 · CC BY-SA 4.0Conception Bay South faces fewer hazards than 90% of Canadian towns
Wildfire is rare near Conception Bay South: 0.5% of the land within 25 km has burned since 1986, a burn rate of 0.01% a year. Seismic risk runs low: $0.013 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. In Health Canada’s survey, just 4% of homes tested in the area exceeded 200 Bq/m³ (6.6% typical). Hazard risk gives Conception Bay South a grade of A; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about Conception Bay South’s hazards
For Conception Bay South, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Conception Bay South faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Conception Bay South grades A for hazard risk
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Conception Bay South with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
Its place: #16 of 32 in Newfoundland and Labrador and #378 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 Conception Bay South has burned: 2.3% within 5 km, 0.5% within 25 km since 1986
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Conception Bay South’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
Next to the typical Canadian town (0.000% a year), Conception Bay South’s 0.01% is in the low band.
Forest fuel is spread evenly around Conception Bay South: 64% within 5 km, 69% 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 Newfoundland and Labrador · highest of 32
In the lower half in Newfoundland and Labrador: Conception Bay South at 0.01% a year, 21st of 32, far from Labrador City’s 0.43%.
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, Conception Bay South 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 Conception Bay South
Flood studies whose area touches Conception Bay South, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
Nationally, Conception Bay South has no listed flood study; the municipality is the place to ask.
Towns with a flood study on file
59% of towns in Newfoundland and Labrador have a flood study, more than Canada’s 58%; Conception Bay South is not yet one of them.
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 Conception Bay South’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.”
Little shaking expected in Conception Bay South: $0.013 a year per $1,000
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
Conception Bay South’s $0.013 is a fraction of the typical town’s $0.030 (0.4 times as much): quiet ground by Canadian standards.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
About level with the typical town in Newfoundland and Labrador: Conception Bay South’s $0.013 against $0.011; Holyrood reaches $0.015.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Toward the quiet end of Canada’s range: 75% of its 2,611 towns sit above Conception Bay South.
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 Conception Bay South 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).
Little radon around Conception Bay South: 4% of area homes over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
Conception Bay South’s area, at 4%, is below the 6.6% of the typical Canadian town, though any one home can still be high.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Conception Bay South’s area, at 4%, is close to the median in Newfoundland and Labrador (4%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Radon rarely tops the guideline around Conception Bay South, as for 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; 63% see more.
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 Conception Bay South 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). · Radon tests published for the Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority, not by town
Where to get warnings in Conception Bay South
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Conception Bay South; 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 Conception Bay South, and listen to local authorities for orders.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Conception Bay South’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conception Bay South | Low | $0.013 | 4% | None listed |
| Paradise 26,155 · 9.5 km | Low | $0.015 | 4% | Yes |
| Mount Pearl 24,266 · 13 km | Low | $0.011 | 4% | Yes |
| Harbour Main-Chapel's Cove-Lakeview 1,180 · 15 km | Low | $0.014 | 4% | None listed |
| Portugal Cove-St. Philip's 9,167 · 15 km | Low | $0.013 | 4% | Yes |
| Wabana 2,008 · 16 km | Low | $0.011 | 4% | None listed |
| Holyrood 2,749 · 16 km | Low | $0.015 | 4% | None listed |
The fire record around Wabana is a touch heavier than Conception Bay South’s, but the band is the same: low (here low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Conception Bay South faces
What to do about the hazards Conception Bay South 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. Flood studies cover areas of every size, which is why the page lists them for Conception Bay South without grading them.
- 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 Conception Bay South.
- 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 Conception Bay South until then.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Conception Bay South’s included.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Conception Bay South
Does Conception Bay South flood?
Nothing is listed for Conception Bay South on the national inventory (0); local maps may still exist with the municipality.
Is radon a problem in Conception Bay South?
In Health Canada’s survey, 4% of 100 homes tested in Conception Bay South’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
How big is the earthquake risk in Conception Bay South?
Expected earthquake damage in Conception Bay South comes to $0.013 a year for each $1,000 that buildings are worth.
Is Conception Bay South at risk of wildfire?
Less than most of Canada: 0.5% of the land within 25 km of Conception Bay South has burned since 1986, the last in 2025, a low band that leaves Risk alone.
How is Conception Bay South’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Conception Bay South’s Hazard risk grade is A, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
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).