Photo: Joey Coleman from Hamilton, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Gibson’s hazards at a glance: a low wildfire record and 5% of area homes over the radon guideline
Wildfire barely registers for Gibson, at 0% of the land within 25 km since 1986 (0.000% a year). Shaking is about as much of a worry in Gibson as in most places, at $0.044 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). Gibson grades B+ for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Gibson’s hazards
For Gibson, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Gibson faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Gibson: B+
For Gibson, Risk will be the average of earthquakes and radon, with wildfire added only if it makes the average worse.
Its place: #494 of 866 in Ontario and #1,255 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 Gibson has burned: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km since 1986
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Gibson’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
The yearly burn rate around Gibson is 0.000%, low beside 0.000% for the typical Canadian town.
Land that isn’t forest covers nearly all the ground around Gibson: forest fuel is 0.2% within 5 km and 1.3% 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, Gibson 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.
Measured against 2,610 towns, Gibson is in the largest group, low (92%), and at its floor, while 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 Gibson
Flood studies whose area touches Gibson, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
The inventory has nothing for Gibson, but a local or conservation-authority map may still exist.
Towns with a flood study on file
Mapping in Ontario reaches 69% of towns, beside 58% across Canada, but not Gibson.
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 Gibson 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 Gibson $0.044 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.
At $0.044 per $1,000, Gibson’s earthquake risk is about the typical Canadian town’s ($0.030; 1.5 times).
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Neither high nor low in Ontario: Gibson’s $0.044 sits by the median of $0.043, while Alexandria reaches $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 32% of Canada’s 2,611 towns are above Gibson.
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 Gibson 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). · Area behind the earthquake risk figures: the city of Hamilton
5% of homes tested around Gibson are over the radon guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
Near the middle for radon: Gibson’s area 5%, the typical Canadian town 6.6%. Gibson doesn’t get its own radon tests figures; the ones here come from the City of Hamilton Health Unit.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Radon runs higher around Gibson than in most towns in Ontario: 5% against 4%.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Radon tops the guideline in a modest share of homes around Gibson, a band holding 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; 26% rank above.
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 Gibson 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 Gibson
Alerts for Gibson 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 Gibson 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 Gibson’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibson | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Stipeley 6,572 · 0.7 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| St. Clair 3,201 · 0.8 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Landsdale 7,681 · 1.0 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Stinson 3,969 · 1.1 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Blakeley 3,151 · 1.2 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | None listed |
| Industrial Sector A and Keith 3,723 · 1.6 km | Low | $0.044 | 5% | Yes |
Stipeley (low) has the heaviest fire record of Gibson’s neighbours, and Gibson (low) matches or beats it.
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Gibson faces
Practical steps for Gibson’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
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, Gibson takes its 2007 health region’s share.
- 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 Gibson.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Gibson’s included.
- 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 Gibson.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Gibson
Does Gibson flood?
No study on Canada’s Flood Map Inventory covers Gibson (0), which doesn’t mean it has never been mapped, so ask the municipality.
How big is the earthquake risk in Gibson?
Expected earthquake damage in Gibson comes to $0.044 a year for each $1,000 that buildings are worth.
How is Gibson’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Gibson grades B+ for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Is Gibson at risk of wildfire?
Very little by the national record: Gibson’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 Gibson?
5% of the 100 homes Health Canada tested around Gibson topped the guideline; your own house needs its own test.
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).