Photo: Onasill ~ Bill - Be Safe & Happy · Public domainA flood study covers Port Hope: 1 on the national inventory, the newest from Durham Region
No wildfire is mapped within 25 km of Port Hope’s homes since 1986 (0% of the land, 0.000% a year). Shaking is about as much of a worry in Port Hope as in most places, at $0.030 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). About as many homes carry radon around Port Hope as elsewhere, 6.1% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Hazard risk gives Port Hope a grade of B+, from earthquakes and radon alone.
What stands out about Port Hope’s hazards
For Port Hope, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Port Hope faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Port Hope grades B+ for hazard risk
Two inputs always count for Port Hope, earthquakes and radon; the third, wildfire, counts only against a town.
Its place: #472 of 866 in Ontario and #918 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 Port Hope: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Port Hope’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
A burn rate of 0.000% a year keeps Port Hope in the low band (the typical Canadian town: 0.000%).
Forest fuel is spread evenly around Port Hope: 16% within 5 km, 17% 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
To three decimals the burn rate around Port Hope is zero, as for 638 of the 871 towns in Ontario, while Sioux Lookout reaches 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.
Like most of Canada’s 2,610 towns (92%), Port Hope is in the low band, with a burn rate of zero to three decimals; 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.
Durham Region has mapped flooding for Port Hope (1 study)
Flood studies whose area touches Port Hope, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
One study on the inventory touches Port Hope, Durham Region’s from 2024, and its area can be large, so it says a map exists, not that the town floods.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durham Floodplain Mapping Update | Durham Region | 2024 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
69% of towns in Ontario have a flood study, more than Canada’s 58%; Port Hope has one too.
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 Port Hope’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.
Ordinary seismic risk in Port Hope: $0.030 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 $0.030 per $1,000, Port Hope’s earthquake risk is the typical Canadian town’s $0.030.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Port Hope’s $0.030 sits under the median in Ontario, $0.043, and well under Alexandria’s $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: 48% of Canada’s 2,611 towns have more earthquake risk than Port Hope.
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 Port Hope 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).
6.1% of homes tested around Port Hope are over the radon guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
Port Hope’s area, at 6.1%, is close to the 6.6% of the typical Canadian town. Figures for radon tests are published for the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Heal health region as a whole, not for Port Hope alone.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Around Port Hope, 6.1% of tests were over 200 Bq/m³ and 1% over 600, against a median of 4% in Ontario.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Port Hope is in the 5–10% band with 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; 26% have more.
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 Port Hope 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 Port Hope
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Port Hope; 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 Port Hope, and listen to local authorities for orders.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Port Hope’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
Among its neighbours Port Hope has the most fire on record (low); Cobourg follows (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Port Hope faces
What to do about the hazards Port Hope 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.
- 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
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Port Hope’s included.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. Flood studies cover areas of every size, which is why the page lists them for Port Hope without grading them.
- 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 Port Hope.
- 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 Port Hope until then.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Port Hope
Does Port Hope flood?
A flood study covers Port Hope on Canada’s Flood Map Inventory; open the owner’s map to check a street, since flood isn’t graded.
How is Port Hope’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Port Hope grades B+ for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
How big is the earthquake risk in Port Hope?
Expected earthquake damage in Port Hope comes to $0.030 a year for each $1,000 that buildings are worth.
Is Port Hope at risk of wildfire?
Hardly at all on record: 0% of the land within 25 km of Port Hope since 1986, a low band, though small grass fires aren’t mapped.
Is radon a problem in Port Hope?
In Health Canada’s survey, 6.1% of 98 homes tested in Port Hope’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
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).