Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.0Hazard risk in Barbertown is lower than in 86% of Canadian towns
The national fire record shows next to nothing around Barbertown, 0% of the land within 25 km since 1986 (0.000% a year). Shaking is about as much of a worry in Barbertown as in most places, at $0.040 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). In Health Canada’s survey, just 0% of homes tested in the area exceeded 200 Bq/m³ (6.6% typical). Barbertown grades A for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Barbertown’s hazards
For Barbertown, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Barbertown faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Barbertown: A
For Barbertown, Risk will be the average of earthquakes and radon, with wildfire added only if it makes the average worse.
Its place: #194 of 866 in Ontario and #529 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.
Wildfire is rare near Barbertown: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Past fire around Barbertown’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
Next to the typical Canadian town (0.000% a year), Barbertown’s 0.000% is in the low band.
Land that isn’t forest covers nearly all the ground around Barbertown: forest fuel is 0.5% 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
Sioux Lookout has the highest burn rate in Ontario, 0.16% a year; around Barbertown, 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; Barbertown 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 Barbertown is mapped in 4 studies, the newest by Credit Valley Conservation Authority
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Barbertown: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
4 studies on the inventory touch Barbertown, the newest Credit Valley Conservation Authority’s from 2020, and their areas can be large, so they say maps exist, not that the town floods.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carolyn Creek Floodplain Mapping Study | Credit Valley Conservation Authority | 2020 | final · not public |
| Credit River | Credit Valley Conservation Authority | 2005 | final · not public |
| Fletcher's Creek | Credit Valley Conservation Authority | 2005 | final · not public |
| Mullett Creek | Credit Valley Conservation Authority | 1997 | final · not public |
Towns with a flood study on file
Flood maps are common in Ontario: 69% of towns have one, against 58% nationally, and Barbertown is among them.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Studies touching Barbertown run from the 1990s to the 2020s, with the most in the 2000s: 2 of 4.
Study dates as the NRCan inventory lists them, one count per study touching Barbertown.
Listed, not scored: a flood study proves a map exists, not that Barbertown 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.”
Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory; links go to each study’s owner.
Earthquakes cost buildings in Barbertown $0.040 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
Earthquake losses in Barbertown, $0.040 per $1,000, are in line with the typical $0.030 (1.3 times).
Barbertown doesn’t get its own earthquake risk figures; the ones here come from the city of Mississauga.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Neither high nor low in Ontario: Barbertown’s $0.040 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.
Barbertown sits mid-range among Canada’s 2,611 towns: 43% expect more shaking damage.
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 Barbertown 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).
0% of homes tested around Barbertown are over the radon guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · Area-wide: radon tests, counted over the Peel Regional Health Unit
Barbertown’s survey area reads 0% over the guideline, under the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Radon runs lower around Barbertown than in most towns in Ontario: 0% against 4%.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Under 5% puts Barbertown with 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; 63% have more high tests.
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 Barbertown, 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).
Where to get warnings in Barbertown
Alerts for Barbertown 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. |
Alert Ready carries evacuation orders for Barbertown to phones; CWFIS shows the day’s fire danger.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Barbertown’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbertown | Low | $0.040 | 0% | Yes |
| Roseborough 54,539 · 1.0 km | Low | $0.040 | 0% | Yes |
| Streetsville 13,535 · 1.5 km | Low | $0.040 | 0% | Yes |
| Britannia 4,641 · 2.8 km | Low | $0.040 | 0% | Yes |
| Central Erin Mills 36,393 · 3.3 km | Low | $0.040 | 0% | Yes |
| Creditview 10,972 · 3.9 km | Low | $0.040 | 0% | Yes |
| Hurontario 43,877 · 4.3 km | Low | $0.040 | 0% | Yes |
None of the places around has more fire nearby than Barbertown (low); Roseborough comes closest (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Barbertown faces
Practical steps for Barbertown’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. The flood inventory points to maps; it is incomplete and not the official source, so ask the municipality about any street in Barbertown.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Barbertown’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 Barbertown.
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, Barbertown takes its 2007 health region’s share.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Barbertown
How big is the earthquake risk in Barbertown?
NRCan’s model expects shaking to cost buildings in Barbertown $0.040 a year for every $1,000 of their value, on average over many years.
Is radon a problem in Barbertown?
The area’s survey found 0% of 90 tested homes above Health Canada’s guideline, so a three-month test is worth doing in Barbertown.
How is Barbertown’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Barbertown’s Hazard risk grade is A, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
Is Barbertown at risk of wildfire?
No meaningful wildfire history near Barbertown: 0% of nearby land since 1986, band low.
Does Barbertown flood?
The inventory lists a study touching Barbertown; whether a given street floods is on that map, not in the grade.
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).