Photo: Canmenwalker · CC BY 4.0Flood mapping exists for Burlington: 1 on record, latest by Conservation Halton
Since 1986 almost nothing has burned near Burlington: 0% of the land within 25 km, or 0.000% a year. Seismic risk in Burlington sits near the middle: $0.047 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. In Health Canada’s survey, just 4.1% of homes tested in the area exceeded 200 Bq/m³ (6.6% typical). Hazard risk gives Burlington a grade of B+, from earthquakes and radon alone.
What stands out about Burlington’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Burlington: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Burlington faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Burlington: B+
Earthquake risk and radon make Burlington’s grade; wildfire can only lower it, never raise it, and flood studies are listed but not scored.
Its place: #492 of 866 in Ontario and #1,101 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
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 Burlington: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km
Past fire around Burlington’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
Burlington burns at 0.000% a year, low against 0.000% for the typical Canadian town.
Little near Burlington’s homes can carry a forest fire; only 1.9% of the land within 5 km is forest fuel, and 4.4% 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 Ontario · highest of 871
Of the 871 towns in Ontario, 638 have a burn rate that rounds to zero, Burlington among them; Sioux Lookout leads at 0.16% 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.
The low band holds 92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns, and Burlington sits at its very bottom; only 7.5% are 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.
A flood study covers Burlington, from Conservation Halton: 1 on the inventory
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Burlington: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
A 2020 study by Conservation Halton covers Burlington, and its map, not the inventory, shows the zones.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halton Shoreline Flood Hazard | Conservation Halton | 2020 | final · not public |
Towns with a flood study on file
Burlington is one of the 69% of towns in Ontario with a flood study on file; across Canada it is 58%.
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 Burlington’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.”
Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory; links go to each study’s owner.
Earthquakes cost buildings in Burlington $0.047 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
With $0.047 of shaking damage a year per $1,000, Burlington is about even with the typical $0.030 (1.6 times).
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Earthquake risk around Burlington ($0.047) matches the middle in Ontario ($0.043), far from Alexandria’s $0.21.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
More earthquake risk than most: only 31% of Canada’s 2,611 towns are above Burlington.
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 model counts damage to Burlington’s buildings and their occupants from shaking only: not liquefaction, landslides, tsunami or fires after a quake.
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 Burlington: 4.1% of area homes over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · Measured across the Halton Regional Health Unit: radon tests
Where the typical Canadian town has 6.6% of homes over the guideline, Burlington’s area has fewer, 4.1%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Around Burlington, 4.1% of tests topped the guideline, about the same as the typical town in Ontario (4%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Under 5% puts Burlington with 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; 63% have more high tests.
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 Burlington only a test can say.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Weather and fire alerts for Burlington
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Burlington; 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. |
For fires near Burlington, the national fire information system maps danger and active fires daily; local authorities give any evacuation order.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Hazards in the places around Burlington
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | Low | $0.047 | 4.1% | Yes |
| Waterdown 23,858 · 7.9 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | Yes |
| North End East 4,816 · 11 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Industrial Sector A and Keith 3,723 · 11 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | Yes |
| Beasley 6,338 · 12 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Central 3,698 · 12 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Parkview West 3,686 · 12 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | Yes |
Among its neighbours Burlington has the most fire on record (low); Waterdown follows (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Burlington faces
Practical steps for Burlington’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. The wildfire figure is the share of land within 25 km of Burlington’s homes burned each year from 1986 to 2025, past fire rather than a forecast, and it can only lower Risk.
- 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 Burlington.
- 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 Burlington’s.
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, Burlington takes its 2007 health region’s share.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Burlington
Is Burlington at risk of wildfire?
Very little by the national record: Burlington’s band is low, with 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, so wildfire doesn’t change its grade.
Is radon a problem in Burlington?
4.1% of the 97 homes Health Canada tested around Burlington topped the guideline; your own house needs its own test.
Does Burlington flood?
The inventory lists a study touching Burlington; whether a given street floods is on that map, not in the grade.
How is Burlington’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Burlington’s Hazard risk grade is B+, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
How big is the earthquake risk in Burlington?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Burlington’s buildings lose $0.047 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
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).