Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 2.5Espanola faces fewer hazards than 91% of Canadian towns
The burned-area map is nearly blank around Espanola, 0% within 25 km since 1986, 0.000% 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. Espanola’s survey area, 5.2% over the radon guideline, is close to the typical town’s 6.6%. Hazard risk gives Espanola a grade of A, from earthquakes and radon alone.
What stands out about Espanola’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Espanola: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Espanola faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Espanola grades A for hazard risk
Two inputs always count for Espanola, earthquakes and radon; the third, wildfire, counts only against a town.
Its place: #41 of 866 in Ontario and #345 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 Espanola: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Espanola’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
Low: the land around Espanola burns at 0.000% a year, where the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%.
35% of the land within 5 km of Espanola is forest fuel, close to the 36% 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
To three decimals the burn rate around Espanola is zero, as for 638 of the 871 towns in Ontario, while Sioux Lookout reaches 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.
Most of the country’s 2,610 towns are low-band (92%, against 7.5% above); around Espanola, burning 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.
No flood study is listed for Espanola
Flood studies whose area touches Espanola, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
No flood study on the national inventory covers Espanola; ask the municipality, which is the authority for its flood maps.
Towns with a flood study on file
Mapping in Ontario reaches 69% of towns, beside 58% across Canada, but not Espanola.
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 Espanola 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.”
Earthquakes cost buildings in Espanola just $0.010 per $1,000 a year
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
Espanola’s $0.010 is a fraction of the typical town’s $0.030 (0.3 times as much): quiet ground by Canadian standards.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
At $0.010, Espanola is below the typical town in Ontario ($0.043); Alexandria is highest at $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.
Most of Canada’s 2,611 towns (86%) face more earthquake damage than Espanola.
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 loss is to Espanola’s buildings alone, from ground shaking; infrastructure and secondary hazards are left out.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
Radon about average around Espanola: 5.2% over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline. · Radon tests for the Sudbury and District Health Unit
Around Espanola, 5.2% of tested homes topped the guideline, near the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Espanola’s area, at 5.2%, is above the median in Ontario (4%), and 1% 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.
26% of Canada’s 2,611 towns have more homes over 200 Bq/m³ than Espanola’s 5–10% band, which holds 37%.
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.
One home in Espanola can be high while next door is low; a three-month test settles it.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Weather and fire alerts for Espanola
Alerts for Espanola 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. |
Fire danger and active fires near Espanola are mapped daily by the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System; evacuation orders come from the municipality or province.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Espanola’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espanola | Low | $0.010 | 5.2% | None listed |
| Sables-Spanish Rivers 3,412 · 18 km | Low | $0.010 | 5.2% | None listed |
The neighbour with the most fire is Sables-Spanish Rivers (low), still no more than Espanola (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Espanola faces
What to do about the hazards Espanola 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
- Earthquakes are modelled. NRCan models what earthquakes would cost buildings each year on average, subdivision by subdivision; Espanola’s figure is its subdivision’s.
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, Espanola takes its 2007 health region’s share.
- 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 Espanola.
- Wildfire counts one way. Wildfire is read from the national burned-area record around Espanola’s homes since 1986, a history of fire that may lower Risk but never raises it.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Espanola
How is Espanola’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Espanola grades A for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
How big is the earthquake risk in Espanola?
About $0.010 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for Espanola.
Does Espanola flood?
Nothing is listed for Espanola on the national inventory (0); local maps may still exist with the municipality.
Is radon a problem in Espanola?
In Health Canada’s survey, 5.2% of 97 homes tested in Espanola’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
Is Espanola at risk of wildfire?
No meaningful wildfire history near Espanola: 0% of nearby land since 1986, band low.
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).