A flood study covers Westmount: 1 on the national inventory, the newest from Grand River Conservation Authority
No wildfire is mapped within 25 km of Westmount’s homes since 1986 (0% of the land, 0.000% a year). NRCan expects $0.022 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in Westmount, near the typical $0.030. Radon is lower than usual: 4% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town. Hazard risk gives Westmount a grade of A−, from earthquakes and radon alone.
What stands out about Westmount’s hazards
For Westmount, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Westmount faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Westmount: A−
Seismic risk and radon set Westmount’s grade, wildfire can drag it down, and flood mapping stays out of it.
Its place: #237 of 866 in Ontario and #594 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 Westmount: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Westmount’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
The land within 25 km of Westmount burns at 0.000% a year on average, the low band; the typical Canadian town: 0.000%.
Little near Westmount’s homes can carry a forest fire; only 0.5% of the land within 5 km is forest fuel, and 2.8% 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, Westmount 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.
Only 7.5% of Canada’s 2,610 towns are above the low band, which holds 92%; Westmount, at a rounded zero, is far from them.
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.
Westmount is on the flood map inventory: 1 study, by Grand River Conservation Authority
Flood studies whose area touches Westmount, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
One study on the inventory touches Westmount, Grand River Conservation Authority’s from 2018, and its area can be large, so it says a map exists, not that the town floods.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand River Regulatory Floodplain | Grand River Conservation Authority | 2018 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Flood maps are common in Ontario: 69% of towns have one, against 58% nationally, and Westmount is among them.
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 Westmount’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 Westmount $0.022 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.
Westmount’s $0.022 is close to the typical town’s $0.030 (0.7 times as much).
Behind earthquake risk sits data gathered across the city of Kitchener, with Westmount one part of it.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Below the middle in Ontario: Westmount’s $0.022 against a median of $0.043; Alexandria has $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.
Middle of the pack: 61% of Canada’s 2,611 towns have more earthquake risk than Westmount.
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 Westmount 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).
Radon runs low around Westmount: 4% of tested homes over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
Radon runs below the typical Canadian town (6.6%) in Westmount’s area, at 4%. Westmount shares its radon tests numbers with the rest of the Waterloo Health Unit.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Westmount’s area, at 4%, is close to the median in Ontario (4%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
63% of Canada’s 2,611 towns have a higher share of homes over 200 Bq/m³ than Westmount’s 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.
Health Canada advises testing every home, Westmount’s included, whatever the area’s figure.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Westmount
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Westmount; 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. |
In fire season, check CWFIS for danger and active fires around Westmount, and listen to local authorities for orders.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Hazards in the places around Westmount
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westmount | Low | $0.022 | 4% | Yes |
| Victoria Hills 10,760 · 0.7 km | Low | $0.022 | 4% | Yes |
| Cherry Hill 6,304 · 1.2 km | Low | $0.022 | 4% | Yes |
| Victoria Park 3,574 · 2.0 km | Low | $0.022 | 4% | Yes |
| Highland West 12,476 · 2.2 km | Low | $0.022 | 4% | Yes |
| Forest Hill 5,760 · 2.3 km | Low | $0.022 | 4% | Yes |
| Meinzinger Park-Lakeside 5,007 · 2.3 km | Low | $0.022 | 4% | Yes |
Victoria Hills (low) has the heaviest fire record of Westmount’s neighbours, and Westmount (low) matches or beats it.
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Westmount faces
Practical steps for Westmount’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
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. A study’s area can be a whole watershed or province, so being on the inventory says a map exists, not that a home in Westmount floods.
- 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 Westmount.
- Radon is a survey. The radon share comes from about 14,000 long-term home tests in 2009–2011, pooled for now by the 2007 health region Westmount sits in.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Westmount’s included.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Westmount
Does Westmount flood?
Westmount’s area has been studied for flooding, and the owner’s map shows which streets lie in a zone; the grade leaves flood out.
Is radon a problem in Westmount?
The area’s survey found 4% of 101 tested homes above Health Canada’s guideline, so a three-month test is worth doing in Westmount.
How big is the earthquake risk in Westmount?
About $0.022 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for Westmount.
How is Westmount’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Hazard risk gives Westmount A−, weighing earthquakes and radon and counting wildfire only against it.
Is Westmount at risk of wildfire?
Hardly at all on record: 0% of the land within 25 km of Westmount since 1986, a low band, though small grass fires aren’t mapped.
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).