Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0A flood study covers Hamilton: 5 on the national inventory, the newest from Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority
Since 1986 almost nothing has burned near Hamilton: 0% of the land within 25 km, or 0.000% a year. NRCan expects $0.026 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in Hamilton, near the typical $0.030. In Health Canada’s survey, 6.1% of homes tested in Hamilton’s area exceeded 200 Bq/m³, close to the typical 6.6%. Hamilton grades A− for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Hamilton’s hazards
For Hamilton, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Hamilton faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Hamilton: A−
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Hamilton with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
Its place: #450 of 866 in Ontario and #881 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
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.
Wildfire is rare near Hamilton: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Hamilton’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
Low: the land around Hamilton burns at 0.000% a year, where the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%.
15% of the land within 5 km of Hamilton is forest fuel, close to the 15% 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
Sioux Lookout has the highest burn rate in Ontario, 0.16% a year; around Hamilton, as around 638 of the 871 towns, it rounds to zero.
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; Hamilton 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.
Flooding around Hamilton is mapped in 5 studies, the newest by Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority
Flood studies whose area touches Hamilton, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
The newest of 5 studies covering Hamilton is Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority’s, from 2020; open its map to see the zones.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Ontario Shoreline Management Plan | Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority | 2020 | final |
| Brook Creek Town of Cobourg Floodline Mapping Study TSH | Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority | 2008 | final · not public |
| Cobourg Creek Town of Cobourg Floodline Mapping Study TSH | Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority | 2008 | final · not public |
| Massey Creek Town of Cobourg Floodline Mapping Study TSH | Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority | 2008 | final · not public |
| Peterborough | Ontonabee Region Conservation Authority | 1991 | final · not public |
Towns with a flood study on file
Mapping in Ontario reaches 69% of towns, Hamilton included, beside 58% across Canada.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
The busiest decade for flood studies around Hamilton was the 2000s (3 of 5); they run from the 1990s to the 2020s.
Study dates as the NRCan inventory lists them, one count per study touching Hamilton.
Flood studies don’t enter the grade; they are listed so you can open the official map for Hamilton.
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.
Ordinary seismic risk in Hamilton: $0.026 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.
Nothing unusual about Hamilton’s ground: $0.026 against a typical $0.030, 0.9 times.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Hamilton’s $0.026 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.
Around half of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than Hamilton (53%).
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).
For Hamilton the model prices shaking damage to buildings, nothing more.
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 Hamilton: 6.1% over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
At 6.1% over the guideline, the area around Hamilton is about level with the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Hamilton’s area, at 6.1%, 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 Hamilton’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.
Radon varies from house to house in Hamilton, so the survey is a reason to test, not a result for yours.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011). · Not measured by town: radon tests (the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Heal health region)
Where to get warnings in Hamilton
Alerts for Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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)
Hazards in the places around Hamilton
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | Low | $0.026 | 6.1% | Yes |
| Cobourg 22,529 · 9.5 km | Low | $0.034 | 6.1% | Yes |
| Port Hope 18,446 · 12 km | Low | $0.030 | 6.1% | Yes |
| Alnwick/Haldimand 8,197 · 13 km | Low | $0.026 | 6.1% | Yes |
Nowhere around Hamilton burns more: Cobourg, the closest rival, is low to its low.
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Hamilton faces
What to do about the hazards Hamilton 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. Radon figures pool the survey’s home tests by area: postal areas once their boundaries arrive, the 2007 health region around Hamilton until then.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. Flood studies cover areas of every size, which is why the page lists them for Hamilton without grading them.
- Wildfire counts one way. For Hamilton, wildfire means how much nearby land burned in the past forty years, a one-way input that can pull Risk down and nothing more.
- Earthquakes are modelled. Seismic risk is NRCan’s model of yearly building losses from shaking, averaged over many years and given for Hamilton’s census subdivision (a neighbourhood shows its city’s).
Questions about flooding and hazards in Hamilton
Is radon a problem in Hamilton?
In Health Canada’s survey, 6.1% of 98 homes tested in Hamilton’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
Is Hamilton at risk of wildfire?
Very little by the national record: Hamilton’s band is low, with 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, so wildfire doesn’t change its grade.
Does Hamilton flood?
A flood study covers Hamilton on Canada’s Flood Map Inventory; open the owner’s map to check a street, since flood isn’t graded.
How is Hamilton’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Hamilton’s Hazard risk grade is A−, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
How big is the earthquake risk in Hamilton?
About $0.026 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for Hamilton.
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).