Photo: Jeangagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0A flood study covers Lowertown West: 6 on the national inventory, the newest from Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
No wildfire is mapped within 25 km of Lowertown West’s homes since 1986 (0% of the land, 0.001% a year). Shaking is a bigger worry than in most places, at $0.15 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). About as many homes carry radon around Lowertown West as elsewhere, 6.2% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Lowertown West grades C+ for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Lowertown West’s hazards
For Lowertown West, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Lowertown West faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Lowertown West grades C+ for hazard risk
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Lowertown West 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.
Wildfire is rare near Lowertown West: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Lowertown West’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
Low by Canadian standards: 0.001% of the land a year around Lowertown West, 0.000% for the typical Canadian town.
Since 1986 the nearest fire to Lowertown West’s homes came within 18 km, never inside 5 km.
8.4% of the land within 25 km of Lowertown West is forest fuel, yet only 0.7% within 5 km of its homes.
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
Lowertown West ranks 83rd of the 871 towns in Ontario for burn rate, at 0.001% a year; Sioux Lookout leads with 0.16%.
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.
Beside 2,610 Canadian towns, Lowertown West reads low, with 92% of them; only 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.
Flooding around Lowertown West is mapped in 6 studies, the newest by Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
Flood studies whose area touches Lowertown West, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
The newest of 6 studies covering Lowertown West is Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s, from 2019; open its map to see the zones.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billberry Creek | Rideau Valley Conservation Authority | 2019 | final |
| Becketts Creek | Rideau Valley Conservation Authority | 2018 | final |
| Rideau River, Hogs Back to Rideau Falls | Rideau Valley Conservation Authority | 2016 | final |
| Gatineau-Argenteuil-Collindes-de-l'Outaouais | Municipalité de Pontiac | 2016 | final |
| Cardinal Creek | Rideau Valley Conservation Authority | 2014 | final |
| Ottawa River | Rideau Valley Conservation Authority | 2014 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Lowertown West 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.
Flood studies don’t enter the grade; they are listed so you can open the official map for Lowertown West.
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.
Shaking is Lowertown West’s costliest hazard: $0.15 a year per $1,000
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
The typical town loses $0.030 a year to shaking; Lowertown West loses $0.15, 5 times as much.
Behind earthquake risk sits data gathered across the city of Ottawa, with Lowertown West one part of it.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Lowertown West’s $0.15 tops the median in Ontario, $0.043, though 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.
15% of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than Lowertown West, which places it in the upper third.
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 Lowertown West 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 Lowertown West: 6.2% over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline. · Measured across the City of Ottawa Health Unit: radon tests
Near the middle for radon: Lowertown West’s area 6.2%, the typical Canadian town 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Lowertown West’s area, at 6.2%, is above the median in Ontario (4%).
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 Lowertown West’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.
Neighbouring homes in Lowertown West 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 Lowertown West
Alerts for Lowertown West 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 Lowertown West to phones; CWFIS shows the day’s fire danger.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Lowertown West’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowertown West | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| Lowertown East 6,996 · 0.7 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| Sandy Hill 13,830 · 1.1 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| New Edinburgh 5,728 · 1.7 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| Centretown 32,035 · 1.9 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| Centre-Ville 12,981 · 2.2 km | Low | $0.12 | 13% | Yes |
| Old Ottawa East 8,308 · 2.3 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
Fire is no heavier anywhere nearby than around Lowertown West (low), with Lowertown East next at low.
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Lowertown West faces
What to do about the hazards Lowertown West 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
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, Lowertown West takes its 2007 health region’s share.
- Earthquakes are modelled. Seismic risk is NRCan’s model of yearly building losses from shaking, averaged over many years and given for Lowertown West’s census subdivision (a neighbourhood shows its city’s).
- 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 Lowertown West.
- Wildfire counts one way. For Lowertown West, 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 Lowertown West
Is Lowertown West at risk of wildfire?
Fire has reached 0% of the land around Lowertown West since 1986 (last in 2020); at low, it neither helps nor hurts the grade.
Is radon a problem in Lowertown West?
Around Lowertown West, 64 survey homes were tested and 6.2% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
Does Lowertown West flood?
The inventory lists a study touching Lowertown West; whether a given street floods is on that map, not in the grade.
How big is the earthquake risk in Lowertown West?
Expected earthquake damage in Lowertown West comes to $0.15 a year for each $1,000 that buildings are worth.
How is Lowertown West’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Hazard risk gives Lowertown West 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).