Photo: Lucas T Photography · CC BY 2.0West Queen West faces few natural hazards: little fire nearby, low seismic risk, radon over the guideline in 2.7% of tested homes
Wildfire isn’t West Queen West’s worry: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986 (0.000% a year). NRCan expects $0.043 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in West Queen West, near the typical $0.030. West Queen West grades A− for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about West Queen West’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for West Queen West: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What West Queen West faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
West Queen West grades A− for hazard risk
For West Queen West, Risk will be the average of earthquakes and radon, with wildfire added only if it makes the average worse.
Its place: #285 of 866 in Ontario and #700 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. The radon share rests on 74 home tests in the survey area, so a few homes move it. Small fires and grass fires are largely missing from the national burned-area record.
Few fires near West Queen West: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km
Past fire around West Queen West’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
At 0.000% of the land a year, West Queen West’s burn rate is in the low band; the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%.
Land that isn’t forest covers nearly all the ground around West Queen West: forest fuel is 0.6% within 5 km and 0.5% 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 West Queen West, 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.
The low band holds 92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns, and West Queen West sits at its very bottom; only 7.5% are above it.
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.
The flood map inventory lists nothing for West Queen West
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for West Queen West: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
The inventory has nothing for West Queen West, but a local or conservation-authority map may still exist.
Towns with a flood study on file
West Queen West has no flood study on file, though 69% of towns in Ontario do (Canada: 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 West Queen West’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.”
Ordinary seismic risk in West Queen West: $0.043 per $1,000 of buildings a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
1.4 times the typical $0.030: West Queen West’s $0.043 is ordinary.
West Queen West doesn’t get its own earthquake risk figures; the ones here come from the city of Toronto.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Earthquake risk around West Queen West ($0.043) matches the middle in Ontario ($0.043), far from 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.
Around half of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than West Queen West (36%).
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).
The loss is to West Queen West’s buildings alone, from ground shaking; infrastructure and secondary hazards are left out.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
Little radon around West Queen West: 2.7% of area homes over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · The radon tests numbers here cover the City of Toronto Health Unit
A lower share than most: 2.7% of tested homes around West Queen West, the typical Canadian town 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
West Queen West’s area, at 2.7%, is below the median in Ontario (4%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
63% of Canada’s 2,611 towns have a higher share of homes over 200 Bq/m³ than West Queen West’s 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.
One home in West Queen West can be high while next door is low; a three-month test settles it.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Weather and fire alerts for West Queen West
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for West Queen West; 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 West Queen West, and listen to local authorities for orders.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How West Queen West’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Queen West | Low | $0.043 | 2.7% | None listed |
| Trinity-Bellwoods 15,691 · 1.0 km | Low | $0.043 | 2.7% | None listed |
| Fort York-Liberty Village 20,071 · 1.0 km | Low | $0.043 | 2.7% | None listed |
| Little Portugal 15,669 · 1.3 km | Low | $0.043 | 2.7% | None listed |
| Wellington Place 25,729 · 1.4 km | Low | $0.043 | 2.7% | None listed |
| Kensington-Chinatown 18,597 · 1.6 km | Low | $0.043 | 2.7% | None listed |
| Harbourfront-CityPlace 28,199 · 1.7 km | Low | $0.043 | 2.7% | None listed |
None of the places around has more fire nearby than West Queen West (low); Trinity-Bellwoods comes closest (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what West Queen West faces
Practical steps for West Queen West’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?
- Ask the municipality for flood maps.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Wildfire counts one way. Wildfire is read from the national burned-area record around West Queen West’s homes since 1986, a history of fire that may lower Risk but never raises it.
- Earthquakes are modelled. NRCan models what earthquakes would cost buildings each year on average, subdivision by subdivision; West Queen West’s figure is its subdivision’s.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. Flood studies cover areas of every size, which is why the page lists them for West Queen West without grading them.
- 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 West Queen West until then.
Questions about flooding and hazards in West Queen West
Is West Queen West at risk of wildfire?
Hardly at all on record: 0% of the land within 25 km of West Queen West since 1986, a low band, though small grass fires aren’t mapped.
How is West Queen West’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
West Queen West grades A− for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Does West Queen West flood?
The inventory has 0 studies for West Queen West, and an empty list isn’t a clean bill: the municipality holds any flood maps.
Is radon a problem in West Queen West?
The area’s survey found 2.7% of 74 tested homes above Health Canada’s guideline, so a three-month test is worth doing in West Queen West.
How big is the earthquake risk in West Queen West?
NRCan’s model expects shaking to cost buildings in West Queen West $0.043 a year for every $1,000 of their value, on average over many years.
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).