Photo: Sergey Ashmarin · CC BY-SA 3.0Flood mapping exists for Westminster-Branson: 1 on record, latest by Toronto Regional Conservation Authority
Since 1986 almost nothing has burned near Westminster-Branson: 0% of the land within 25 km, or 0.000% a year. Earthquake risk in Westminster-Branson is ordinary: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.043 a year per $1,000 of value, close to the typical town’s $0.030. Fewer homes than usual carry radon here, 2.7% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Westminster-Branson grades A− for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Westminster-Branson’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Westminster-Branson: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Westminster-Branson faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Westminster-Branson: A−
Two inputs always count for Westminster-Branson, earthquakes and radon; the third, wildfire, counts only against a town.
Its place: #285 of 866 in Ontario and #700 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: Earthquake losses are a model’s expectation over many years, not a forecast for any one. Only 74 homes were tested in the survey area, so the radon share is rough. Small fires and grass fires are largely missing from the national burned-area record.
Little of the land around Westminster-Branson has burned: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km since 1986
Past fire around Westminster-Branson’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
Low: the land around Westminster-Branson burns at 0.000% a year, where the typical Canadian town sees 0.000%.
Land that isn’t forest covers nearly all the ground around Westminster-Branson: forest fuel is 0.1% within 5 km and 2.7% 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
Of the 871 towns in Ontario, 638 have a burn rate that rounds to zero, Westminster-Branson 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.
Westminster-Branson 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.
A flood study covers Westminster-Branson, from Toronto Regional Conservation Authority: 1 on the inventory
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Westminster-Branson: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
A 2021 study by Toronto Regional Conservation Authority covers Westminster-Branson, and its map, not the inventory, shows the zones.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Floodline Consolidation | Toronto Regional Conservation Authority | 2021 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Mapping in Ontario reaches 69% of towns, Westminster-Branson included, beside 58% across Canada.
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 Westminster-Branson’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.
Earthquakes cost buildings in Westminster-Branson $0.043 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
1.4 times the typical $0.030: Westminster-Branson’s $0.043 is ordinary.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Earthquake risk around Westminster-Branson ($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.
Middle of the pack: 36% of Canada’s 2,611 towns have more earthquake risk than Westminster-Branson.
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 Westminster-Branson’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). · Earthquake risk published for the city of Toronto, not by town
2.7% of homes tested around Westminster-Branson are over the radon guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline.
Fewer homes than usual test high around Westminster-Branson: 2.7% against 6.6% for the typical Canadian town. Westminster-Branson doesn’t get its own radon tests figures; the ones here come from the City of Toronto Health Unit.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Westminster-Branson’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.
Westminster-Branson is in the lowest band, with 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns: under 5% of tests over the guideline, while 63% 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.
One home in Westminster-Branson 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 Westminster-Branson
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Westminster-Branson; 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 Westminster-Branson, and listen to local authorities for orders.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Westminster-Branson’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster-Branson | Low | $0.043 | 2.7% | Yes |
| Newtonbrook West 23,978 · 1.4 km | Low | $0.043 | 2.7% | Yes |
| Bathurst Manor 16,176 · 2.4 km | Low | $0.043 | 2.7% | Yes |
| Willowdale West 17,210 · 2.5 km | Low | $0.043 | 2.7% | Yes |
| Concord 7,225 · 2.7 km | Low | $0.028 | 0% | Yes |
| Beverley Glen 38,720 · 2.8 km | Low | $0.028 | 0% | Yes |
| Thornhill 17,940 · 2.9 km | Low | $0.028 | 0% | Yes |
Newtonbrook West burns a little more than Westminster-Branson, in the same low band (low here).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Westminster-Branson faces
What to do about the hazards Westminster-Branson 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
- Wildfire counts one way. Wildfire is read from the national burned-area record around Westminster-Branson’s homes since 1986, a history of fire that may lower Risk but never raises it.
- 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 Westminster-Branson.
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, Westminster-Branson takes its 2007 health region’s share.
- Earthquakes are modelled. NRCan models what earthquakes would cost buildings each year on average, subdivision by subdivision; Westminster-Branson’s figure is its subdivision’s.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Westminster-Branson
Is Westminster-Branson at risk of wildfire?
No meaningful wildfire history near Westminster-Branson: 0% of nearby land since 1986, band low.
Is radon a problem in Westminster-Branson?
Around Westminster-Branson, 74 survey homes were tested and 2.7% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
How is Westminster-Branson’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Hazard risk gives Westminster-Branson A−, weighing earthquakes and radon and counting wildfire only against it.
Does Westminster-Branson flood?
The inventory lists a study touching Westminster-Branson; whether a given street floods is on that map, not in the grade.
How big is the earthquake risk in Westminster-Branson?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Westminster-Branson’s buildings lose $0.043 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).