Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 4.0Richmond is on Canada’s flood inventory: 6 listed, led by Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
Burn scars are few around Richmond, with 0.1% of the land within 25 km touched by fire since 1986 (0.001% 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. Radon is about average around Richmond: 6.2% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town. Hazard risk gives Richmond a grade of C+, from earthquakes and radon alone.
What stands out about Richmond’s hazards
For Richmond, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Richmond faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Richmond: C+
Seismic risk and radon set Richmond’s grade, wildfire can drag it down, and flood mapping stays out of it.
Its place: #703 of 866 in Ontario and #1,894 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. 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 Richmond: 0.1% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Past fire around Richmond’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
At 0.001% of the land a year, Richmond’s burn rate is in the low band; the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%.
Nothing inside 5 km of Richmond’s homes has burned since 1986, and the nearest scar is 15 km off.
The nearer ring around Richmond is less wooded (7% forest fuel) than the land out to 25 km (14%).
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
In the top quarter in Ontario: Richmond ranks 83rd of 871 at 0.001% a year, with Sioux Lookout first at 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.
Some fire is mapped around Richmond, but not enough to leave the low band, where 92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns are; 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 Richmond is mapped in 6 studies, the newest by Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Richmond: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
6 studies on the inventory touch Richmond, the newest Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s from 2019, and their areas can be large, so they say maps exist, not that the town floods.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mud Creek | Rideau Valley Conservation Authority | 2019 | final |
| Rideau River, Hogs Back to Kars | Rideau Valley Conservation Authority | 2017 | final |
| Hobbs Drain | Rideau Valley Conservation Authority | 2017 | final |
| Flowing Creek | Rideau Valley Conservation Authority | 2017 | final |
| Village of Richmond | Rideau Valley Conservation Authority | 2009 | final |
| Jock River | Rideau Valley Conservation Authority | 2005 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Richmond 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 studies touching Richmond lean recent: 4 of 6 date from the 2010s, the first from the 2000s.
Study dates as the NRCan inventory lists them, one count per study touching Richmond.
Listed, not scored: a flood study proves a map exists, not that Richmond 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 Richmond $0.15 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
Richmond’s $0.15 is about 5 times the typical town’s $0.030: it sits in one of Canada’s more active seismic zones.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Above the middle in Ontario: Richmond’s $0.15 against a median of $0.043, with Alexandria highest at $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 15% of Canada’s 2,611 towns are above Richmond.
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 Richmond 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). · Area behind the earthquake risk figures: the city of Ottawa
Radon about average around Richmond: 6.2% over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · Shared with the rest of the City of Ottawa Health Unit: radon tests
The survey area of Richmond reads 6.2%, a shade from the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Radon runs higher around Richmond than in most towns in Ontario: 6.2% 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 Richmond, 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 Richmond 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 Richmond
Alerts for Richmond 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. |
Evacuation orders for Richmond come from the municipality or the province, while CWFIS maps fire danger every day.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Richmond’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| Munster - Ashton 6,372 · 7.1 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| Stittsville East 10,482 · 8.7 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | None listed |
| Stittsville 19,753 · 8.7 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | None listed |
| Stonebridge - Half Moon Bay 28,714 · 9.3 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| Old Barrhaven West 22,012 · 9.5 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | Yes |
| Bridlewood - Emerald Meadows 25,824 · 9.6 km | Low | $0.15 | 6.2% | None listed |
The fire record around Stittsville East is a touch heavier than Richmond’s, but the band is the same: low (here low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Richmond faces
Practical steps for Richmond’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.
- 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. Radon figures pool the survey’s home tests by area: postal areas once their boundaries arrive, the 2007 health region around Richmond until then.
- 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 Richmond.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. Flood studies cover areas of every size, which is why the page lists them for Richmond without grading them.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Richmond’s included.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Richmond
Does Richmond flood?
A flood study covers Richmond on Canada’s Flood Map Inventory; open the owner’s map to check a street, since flood isn’t graded.
Is Richmond at risk of wildfire?
Not much by Canadian standards: Richmond’s band is low, with 0.1% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986 (last in 2014), so wildfire doesn’t change its grade.
How is Richmond’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Richmond’s Hazard risk grade is C+, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
Is radon a problem in Richmond?
6.2% of the 64 homes Health Canada tested around Richmond topped the guideline; your own house needs its own test.
How big is the earthquake risk in Richmond?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Richmond’s buildings lose $0.15 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
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).