Photo: J. S. Bond · CC BY-SA 3.0Flood mapping exists for Clinton: 1 on record, latest by Maitland Valley Conservation Authority
Wildfire isn’t Clinton’s worry: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986 (0.000% a year). Earthquakes matter little: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.012 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. In Health Canada’s survey, 11% of homes tested in the area exceeded 200 Bq/m³ (6.6% typical). Clinton grades B for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Clinton’s hazards
For Clinton, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Clinton faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Clinton grades B for hazard risk
The grade weighs Clinton’s seismic risk and radon equally, and wildfire is one-sided: a high band counts against a town, a low one earns nothing.
Its place: #612 of 866 in Ontario and #1,401 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: Earthquake losses are a model’s expectation over many years, not a forecast for any one. The burned-area record misses fires under about 10 ha and most grass and farm fires.
Little of the land around Clinton has burned: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km since 1986
Past fire around Clinton’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
Around Clinton fire takes 0.000% of the land in a typical year, the typical Canadian town 0.000%, which is low.
Around Clinton the forest is thin or far off: 3.1% of the land within 5 km and 1.4% within 25 km is forest fuel.
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
Near-zero burning puts Clinton with 638 of the 871 towns in Ontario, far below Sioux Lookout at 0.16%.
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.
92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns are in the low band and 7.5% above it; Clinton is among the many where the yearly burn rate rounds to zero.
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.
Maitland Valley Conservation Authority has mapped flooding for Clinton (1 study)
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Clinton: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
A 2024 study by Maitland Valley Conservation Authority covers Clinton, and its map, not the inventory, shows the zones.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maitland Valley Shoreline Hazard Mapping Update (2023) | Maitland Valley Conservation Authority | 2024 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Clinton 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.
Nothing here counts toward Risk; the studies are pointers to the maps their owners keep for Clinton.
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 Clinton just $0.012 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
Clinton’s $0.012 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
Clinton’s $0.012 sits under the median in Ontario, $0.043, and well under 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.
84% of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than Clinton.
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 Clinton 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).
Test for radon in Clinton: 11% of area homes were over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline.
Clinton’s area, at 11%, is above the 6.6% of the typical Canadian town, so testing is worth more here than most places. Figures for radon tests are published for the Huron County Health Unit as a whole, not for Clinton alone.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Clinton’s area, at 11%, is above the median in Ontario (4%), and 0.9% of its tests passed 600 Bq/m³.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Clinton 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.
Neighbouring homes in Clinton 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 Clinton
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Clinton; 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 Clinton, 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)
How Clinton’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton | Low | $0.012 | 11% | Yes |
| Goderich 8,412 · 15 km | Low | $0.008 | 11% | Yes |
The neighbour with the most fire is Goderich (low), still no more than Clinton (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Clinton faces
What to do about the hazards Clinton 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
- Radon is a survey. About 14,000 homes were tested across Canada in 2009–2011, and the share over the guideline for Clinton is its health region’s, the survey’s design unit.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. NRCan’s inventory says where flood mapping exists, not where water goes; the map’s owner is the authority for Clinton.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Clinton’s included.
- 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 Clinton.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Clinton
How is Clinton’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Clinton grades B for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Is radon a problem in Clinton?
In Health Canada’s survey, 11% of 106 homes tested in Clinton’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
Is Clinton at risk of wildfire?
Very little by the national record: Clinton’s band is low, with 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, so wildfire doesn’t change its grade.
Does Clinton flood?
There is flood mapping for Clinton on the national inventory, each study linked to its owner’s map, none of them graded.
How big is the earthquake risk in Clinton?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Clinton’s buildings lose $0.012 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).