Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 4.0Blackburn Hamlet is on Canada’s flood inventory: 1 listed, led by Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
For Blackburn Hamlet, wildfire history is close to nil: 0% of nearby land since 1986, 0.000% a year. Earthquakes add more: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.15 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. About as many homes carry radon around Blackburn Hamlet as elsewhere, 6.2% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Hazard risk gives Blackburn Hamlet a grade of C+, from earthquakes and radon alone.
What stands out about Blackburn Hamlet’s hazards
For Blackburn Hamlet, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Blackburn Hamlet faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Blackburn Hamlet grades C+ for hazard risk
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Blackburn Hamlet with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
Its place: #703 of 866 in Ontario and #1,894 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: Earthquake losses are a model’s expectation over many years, not a forecast for any one. Only 64 homes were tested in the survey area, so the radon share is rough. The burned-area record misses fires under about 10 ha and most grass and farm fires.
Little of the land around Blackburn Hamlet has burned: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km since 1986
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Blackburn Hamlet’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
In a typical year 0.000% of the land near Blackburn Hamlet burns; the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%, and both are low.
The 5 km ring around Blackburn Hamlet’s homes is clear of burns since 1986, the nearest 24 km out.
Close to Blackburn Hamlet there is little to burn (4.3% forest fuel within 5 km), but 7.6% of the land within 25 km is forest.
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, Blackburn Hamlet 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.
Blackburn Hamlet shares the low band with 92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns, its burn rate rounding to nothing; 7.5% burn faster.
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.
Rideau Valley Conservation Authority has mapped flooding for Blackburn Hamlet (1 study)
Flood studies whose area touches Blackburn Hamlet, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
The flood study touching Blackburn Hamlet is Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s, dated 2014; its own map shows the zones street by street.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa River | Rideau Valley Conservation Authority | 2014 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Blackburn Hamlet is one of the 69% of towns in Ontario with a flood study on file; across Canada it is 58%.
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 Blackburn Hamlet’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.
High seismic risk in Blackburn Hamlet: $0.15 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.
At $0.15 per $1,000, Blackburn Hamlet carries roughly 5 times the typical Canadian town’s earthquake risk ($0.030).
Figures for earthquake risk are published for the city of Ottawa as a whole, not for Blackburn Hamlet alone.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Earthquake risk in Ontario peaks in Alexandria ($0.21); Blackburn Hamlet, at $0.15, sits above the median of $0.043.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
In the upper part of Canada’s range: 15% of its 2,611 towns expect more damage than Blackburn Hamlet.
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 Blackburn Hamlet 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).
Some radon around Blackburn Hamlet: 6.2% of area homes over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
At 6.2% over the guideline, the area around Blackburn Hamlet is about level with the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
The median in Ontario is 4% over 200 Bq/m³; the survey area around Blackburn Hamlet has 6.2%.
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 Blackburn Hamlet’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.
A low area share in Blackburn Hamlet doesn’t clear a house, nor does a high one condemn it: test.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011). · Area behind the radon tests figures: the City of Ottawa Health Unit
Where to get warnings in Blackburn Hamlet
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Blackburn Hamlet; 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 Blackburn Hamlet, and listen to local authorities for orders.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Blackburn Hamlet’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburn Hamlet | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| Greenbelt (east) 3,094 · 0.8 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| Beacon Hill South - Cardinal Heights 7,746 · 3.0 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| Chapel Hill North 11,715 · 3.1 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| Chapel Hill South 14,278 · 3.2 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | None listed |
| Pineview 6,346 · 3.5 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| Rothwell Heights - Beacon Hill North 10,985 · 3.8 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
Nowhere around Blackburn Hamlet burns more: Greenbelt (east), 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 Blackburn Hamlet faces
What to do about the hazards Blackburn Hamlet 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap the water heater down.
- Keep 72 hours of supplies.
- Has it had a radon test?
- Check the address on the flood map.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
- Is earthquake cover included?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Earthquakes are modelled. Seismic risk is NRCan’s model of yearly building losses from shaking, averaged over many years and given for Blackburn Hamlet’s census subdivision (a neighbourhood shows its city’s).
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, Blackburn Hamlet 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 Blackburn Hamlet.
- Wildfire counts one way. For Blackburn Hamlet, wildfire means how much nearby land burned in the past forty years, a one-way input that can pull Risk down and nothing more.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Blackburn Hamlet
Is radon a problem in Blackburn Hamlet?
In Health Canada’s survey, 6.2% of 64 homes tested in Blackburn Hamlet’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
Does Blackburn Hamlet flood?
The inventory lists a study touching Blackburn Hamlet; whether a given street floods is on that map, not in the grade.
Is Blackburn Hamlet at risk of wildfire?
Less than most of Canada: 0% of the land within 25 km of Blackburn Hamlet has burned since 1986, the last in 2025, a low band that leaves Risk alone.
How big is the earthquake risk in Blackburn Hamlet?
About $0.15 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for Blackburn Hamlet.
How is Blackburn Hamlet’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Hazard risk gives Blackburn Hamlet C+, weighing earthquakes and radon and counting wildfire only against it.
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).