Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainHazard risk in Division No. 1, Subdivision U is lower than in 90% of Canadian towns
Fire has left almost no mark near Division No. 1, Subdivision U: 0% of the land within 25 km since 1986, 0.000% a year. Seismic risk runs low: $0.013 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. Fewer homes than usual carry radon here, 4% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Hazard risk gives Division No. 1, Subdivision U a grade of A, from earthquakes and radon alone.
What stands out about Division No. 1, Subdivision U’s hazards
For Division No. 1, Subdivision U, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Division No. 1, Subdivision U faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Division No. 1, Subdivision U: A
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Division No. 1, Subdivision U with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
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.
Few fires near Division No. 1, Subdivision U: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Division No. 1, Subdivision U’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
The yearly burn rate around Division No. 1, Subdivision U is 0.000%, low beside 0.000% for the typical Canadian town.
No fire has burned within 5 km of Division No. 1, Subdivision U’s homes since 1986; the nearest burn is 15 km away.
The ring nearest Division No. 1, Subdivision U is the most wooded: 83% forest fuel within 5 km against 64% 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 33
Of the 33 towns in Newfoundland and Labrador, 8 have a burn rate that rounds to zero, Division No. 1, Subdivision U among them; Labrador City leads at 0.43% a year.
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.
Measured against 2,610 towns, Division No. 1, Subdivision U is in the largest group, low (92%), and at its floor, while 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.
Division No. 1, Subdivision U is on the flood map inventory: 1 study, by Department of Environment and Climate Change
Flood studies whose area touches Division No. 1, Subdivision U, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
Department of Environment and Climate Change studied flooding in an area that includes Division No. 1, Subdivision U (2024); open its map to see which streets lie in a flood zone.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flood Hazard Mapping for Ferryland, Brigus, Heart’s Delight-Islington, Hant’s Harbour, and Winterton | Department of Environment and Climate Change | 2024 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Flood maps are common in Newfoundland and Labrador: 59% of towns have one, against 58% nationally, and Division No. 1, Subdivision U is among them.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Listed, not scored: a flood study proves a map exists, not that Division No. 1, Subdivision U floods.
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.
Low seismic risk in Division No. 1, Subdivision U: $0.013 per $1,000 of buildings a year
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
0.4 times the typical $0.030: Division No. 1, Subdivision U’s $0.013 is low for Canada.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Earthquake risk around Division No. 1, Subdivision U ($0.013) matches the middle in Newfoundland and Labrador ($0.011), far from Holyrood’s $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.
Most of Canada’s 2,611 towns (75%) face more earthquake damage than Division No. 1, Subdivision U.
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 Division No. 1, Subdivision U 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 Division No. 1, Subdivision U: 4% of area homes over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
A lower share than most: 4% of tested homes around Division No. 1, Subdivision U, the typical Canadian town 6.6%. Figures for radon tests are published for the Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority as a whole, not for Division No. 1, Subdivision U alone.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Division No. 1, Subdivision U’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 Division No. 1, Subdivision U, 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.
Whatever Division No. 1, Subdivision U’s area share, the reading that matters is your own home’s, over a winter.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Division No. 1, Subdivision U
Alerts for Division No. 1, Subdivision U 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. |
Alert Ready carries evacuation orders for Division No. 1, Subdivision U to phones; CWFIS shows the day’s fire danger.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Hazards in the places around Division No. 1, Subdivision U
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division No. 1, Subdivision U | Low | $0.013 | 4% | Yes |
| Witless Bay 1,833 · 9.8 km | Low | $0.011 | 4% | None listed |
| Bay Bulls 1,699 · 15 km | Low | $0.011 | 4% | None listed |
Witless Bay burns a little more than Division No. 1, Subdivision U, in the same low band (low here).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Division No. 1, Subdivision U faces
What to do about the hazards Division No. 1, Subdivision U 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?
- Check the address on the flood map.
- 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 Division No. 1, Subdivision U floods.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Division No. 1, Subdivision U’s included.
- 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 Division No. 1, Subdivision U sits in.
- 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 Division No. 1, Subdivision U.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Division No. 1, Subdivision U
Is radon a problem in Division No. 1, Subdivision U?
Around Division No. 1, Subdivision U, 100 survey homes were tested and 4% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
How big is the earthquake risk in Division No. 1, Subdivision U?
Expected earthquake damage in Division No. 1, Subdivision U comes to $0.013 a year for each $1,000 that buildings are worth.
Does Division No. 1, Subdivision U flood?
Division No. 1, Subdivision U’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 Division No. 1, Subdivision U at risk of wildfire?
Fire has reached 0% of the land around Division No. 1, Subdivision U since 1986 (last in 2025); at low, it neither helps nor hurts the grade.
How is Division No. 1, Subdivision U’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Division No. 1, Subdivision U’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).