Photo: Jeangagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0Hazard risk in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul is higher than in 93% of Canadian towns
Since 1986 almost nothing has burned near Saint-Vincent-de-Paul: 0% of the land within 25 km, or 0.001% a year. Earthquakes add more: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.21 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. More homes than usual carry radon here, 12% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Saint-Vincent-de-Paul grades D for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Saint-Vincent-de-Paul: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Saint-Vincent-de-Paul faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul: D
Two inputs always count for Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, earthquakes and radon; the third, wildfire, counts only against a town.
Its place: #485 of 507 in Quebec and #2,507 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: Earthquake losses are a model’s expectation over many years, not a forecast for any one. Small fires and grass fires are largely missing from the national burned-area record.
Little of the land around Saint-Vincent-de-Paul has burned: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km since 1986
Past fire around Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
The land within 25 km of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul burns at 0.001% a year on average, the low band; the typical Canadian town: 0.000%.
No fire has burned within 5 km of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’s homes since 1986; the nearest burn is 11 km away.
Around Saint-Vincent-de-Paul the forest is thin or far off: 0.2% of the land within 5 km and 2.7% within 25 km is forest fuel.
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 Quebec · highest of 513
At 0.001% a year, Saint-Vincent-de-Paul ranks 136th of the 513 towns in Quebec; Mistissini leads at 0.31%.
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, Saint-Vincent-de-Paul 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.
No flood study is listed for Saint-Vincent-de-Paul
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Saint-Vincent-de-Paul: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
An empty entry for Saint-Vincent-de-Paul on the inventory isn’t proof of safety; ask locally for flood maps.
Towns with a flood study on file
Flood maps are thinner in Quebec, 45% of towns against 58% nationally, and Saint-Vincent-de-Paul has none.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Listed, not scored: a flood study proves a map exists, not that Saint-Vincent-de-Paul 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.”
Shaking is Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’s costliest hazard: $0.21 a year per $1,000
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
At $0.21 per $1,000, Saint-Vincent-de-Paul carries roughly 6.9 times the typical Canadian town’s earthquake risk ($0.030).
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
The typical town in Quebec expects $0.14 a year; Saint-Vincent-de-Paul expects $0.21, and La Pocatière $0.48.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Only 7.9% of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than Saint-Vincent-de-Paul.
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).
Roads, pipes and bridges aren’t in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’s figure, nor landslides or tsunami: it is buildings and shaking.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean). · Earthquake risk: the city of Laval
Radon runs high around Saint-Vincent-de-Paul: 12% of tested homes over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline.
At 12% over the guideline, the area around Saint-Vincent-de-Paul beats the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%. For radon tests, the only official count covers all of the Laval health region, Saint-Vincent-de-Paul included.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
More homes top the guideline around Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (12%) than in the typical town in Quebec (8.2%); 0.9% went over 600.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
More high tests than most: Saint-Vincent-de-Paul sits in a band that only 22% of Canada’s 2,611 towns share, with 4.6% 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.
A survey sample isn’t a map: any home in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul can be high, and a three-month test is the only way to know.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Weather and fire alerts for Saint-Vincent-de-Paul
Alerts for Saint-Vincent-de-Paul 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 Saint-Vincent-de-Paul 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 Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Vincent-de-Paul | Low | $0.21 | 12% | None listed |
| Centre-Nord (Montréal-Nord) 13,131 · 1.9 km | Low | $0.20 | 6.8% | None listed |
| Duvernay 37,460 · 2.2 km | Low | $0.21 | 12% | None listed |
| Centre (Montréal-Nord) 20,584 · 2.4 km | Low | $0.20 | 6.8% | None listed |
| Ouest (Montréal-Nord) 23,373 · 2.6 km | Low | $0.20 | 6.8% | None listed |
| Est (Montréal-Nord) 31,383 · 3.1 km | Low | $0.20 | 6.8% | None listed |
| La Visitation 17,166 · 3.7 km | Low | $0.20 | 6.8% | None listed |
La Visitation burns a little more than Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, 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 Saint-Vincent-de-Paul faces
What to do about the hazards Saint-Vincent-de-Paul 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?
- Ask the municipality for flood maps.
- 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, Saint-Vincent-de-Paul takes its 2007 health region’s share.
- 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 Saint-Vincent-de-Paul.
- Wildfire counts one way. Wildfire is read from the national burned-area record around Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’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; Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’s figure is its subdivision’s.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul
Is Saint-Vincent-de-Paul at risk of wildfire?
Less than most of Canada: 0% of the land within 25 km of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul has burned since 1986, the last in 2025, a low band that leaves Risk alone.
How is Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’s Hazard risk grade is D, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
How big is the earthquake risk in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’s buildings lose $0.21 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
Is radon a problem in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul?
In Health Canada’s survey, 12% of 107 homes tested in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
Does Saint-Vincent-de-Paul flood?
Nothing is listed for Saint-Vincent-de-Paul on the national inventory (0); local maps may still exist with the municipality.
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).