Photo: Erikallen920 · CC BY-SA 4.0Hazards in St. George's: wildfire low, radon over the guideline in 10% of tested homes
Fire seldom reaches St. George's: since 1986, 0.3% of the land within 25 km has burned (0.006% a year). Earthquakes matter little: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.010 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. Hazard risk gives St. George's a grade of B+; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about St. George's’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for St. George's: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What St. George's faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
St. George's grades B+ for hazard risk
Seismic risk and radon set St. George's’ grade, wildfire can drag it down, and flood mapping stays out of it.
How sure: Earthquake losses are a model’s expectation over many years, not a forecast for any one. Small fires and grass fires are largely missing from the national burned-area record.
Few fires near St. George's: 0% within 5 km, 0.3% within 25 km
Past fire around St. George's’ homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
St. George's burns at 0.006% a year, low against 0.000% for the typical Canadian town.
No fire has burned within 5 km of St. George's’ homes since 1986; the nearest burn is 12 km away.
Forest fuel is denser close to St. George's (75% within 5 km) than further out (67% 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
St. George's ranks 23rd of the 33 towns in Newfoundland and Labrador for burn rate (0.006% a year), in the lower half; Labrador City leads at 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, St. George's 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.
No flood study is listed for St. George's
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for St. George's: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
An empty entry for St. George's on the inventory isn’t proof of safety; ask locally for flood maps.
Towns with a flood study on file
59% of towns in Newfoundland and Labrador have a flood study, more than Canada’s 58%; St. George's 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.
Flood mapping is shown for St. George's 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.”
Earthquakes cost buildings in St. George's just $0.010 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
Shaking costs the typical town $0.030 a year; in St. George's it is only $0.010, 0.3 times as much.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Typical for its province: St. George's at $0.010 beside a median in Newfoundland and Labrador of $0.011, with Holyrood on top at $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.
St. George's is in the lower part of Canada’s range for earthquake risk; 86% of the 2,611 towns are higher.
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).
Roads, pipes and bridges aren’t in St. George's’ figure, nor landslides or tsunami: it is buildings and shaking.
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. George's: 10% of tested homes over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline.
More homes than usual test high around St. George's: 10% against 6.6% for the typical Canadian town. Behind radon tests sits data gathered across the Western Regional Integrated Health Authority, with St. George's one part of it.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Around St. George's, 10% of tests were over 200 Bq/m³ and 1.9% over 600, against a median of 4% in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
St. George's is in the 10–20% band, with 22% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; only 4.6% are 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.
A survey sample isn’t a map: any home in St. George's can be high, and a three-month test is the only way to know.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Weather and fire alerts for St. George's
Alerts for St. George's 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 St. George's to phones; CWFIS shows the day’s fire danger.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How St. George'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. George's | Low | $0.010 | 10% | None listed |
| Stephenville Crossing 1,731 · 10 km | Low | $0.013 | 10% | Yes |
| Stephenville 6,840 · 15 km | Low | $0.011 | 10% | Yes |
| Kippens 1,927 · 17 km | Low | $0.007 | 10% | Yes |
St. George's’ low band tops its neighbours; Stephenville is next (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what St. George's faces
Practical steps for St. George'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?
- Ask the municipality for flood maps.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Earthquakes are modelled. NRCan models what earthquakes would cost buildings each year on average, subdivision by subdivision; St. George's’ figure is its subdivision’s.
- 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. George's.
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, St. George's takes its 2007 health region’s share.
- Wildfire counts one way. Wildfire is read from the national burned-area record around St. George's’ homes since 1986, a history of fire that may lower Risk but never raises it.
Questions about flooding and hazards in St. George's
Is radon a problem in St. George's?
The area’s survey found 10% of 211 tested homes above Health Canada’s guideline, so a three-month test is worth doing in St. George's.
Is St. George's at risk of wildfire?
Some, but St. George's’ low band (0.3% of nearby land burned since 1986, latest 1990) is short of the level that counts.
Does St. George's flood?
The inventory has 0 studies for St. George's, and an empty list isn’t a clean bill: the municipality holds any flood maps.
How big is the earthquake risk in St. George's?
In NRCan’s seismic model, St. George's’ buildings lose $0.010 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
How is St. George's’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
St. George's grades B+ 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).