Photo: Fralambert · Public domainHazard risk in Saint-André-Avellin is higher than in 87% of Canadian towns
Little of the land around Saint-André-Avellin has burned: 0% within 25 km since 1986, or 0.000% a year. Seismic risk runs high: $0.11 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. More homes than usual carry radon here, 13% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Saint-André-Avellin grades D for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Saint-André-Avellin’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Saint-André-Avellin: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Saint-André-Avellin faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Saint-André-Avellin grades D for hazard risk
Earthquake risk and radon make Saint-André-Avellin’s grade; wildfire can only lower it, never raise it, and flood studies are listed but not scored.
Its place: #436 of 507 in Quebec and #2,429 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. Only 63 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.
Wildfire is rare near Saint-André-Avellin: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Saint-André-Avellin’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
Saint-André-Avellin burns at 0.000% a year, low against 0.000% for the typical Canadian town.
Near or far, forest fuel covers a similar share around Saint-André-Avellin: 24% within 5 km and 20% 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 Quebec · highest of 513
Little or nothing burns around Saint-André-Avellin in a typical year; 144 of the 513 towns in Quebec share that, and 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.
92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns are in the low band and 7.5% above it; Saint-André-Avellin is among the many where the yearly burn rate rounds to zero.
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 Saint-André-Avellin is mapped in 3 studies, the newest by Gouvernement du Québec
Flood studies whose area touches Saint-André-Avellin, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
3 studies on the inventory touch Saint-André-Avellin, the newest Gouvernement du Québec’s from 2012, and their areas can be large, so they say maps exist, not that the town floods.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Papineauville-St-André-Avellin | Gouvernement du Québec | 2012 | final |
| Ripon-St-André-Avellin | Gouvernement du Québec | 2006 | final |
| St-André-Avellin | Gouvernement du Québec | 2005 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Its flood study sets Saint-André-Avellin apart in Quebec, where 45% of towns have one (Canada: 58%).
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Mapping around Saint-André-Avellin began in the 2000s; the 2000s saw the most work (2 of 3 studies), the latest in the 2010s.
Study dates as the NRCan inventory lists them, one count per study touching Saint-André-Avellin.
Flood mapping is shown for Saint-André-Avellin to be opened and checked, never turned into a grade.
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 Saint-André-Avellin $0.11 per $1,000 a year
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
Saint-André-Avellin’s $0.11 is about 3.6 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
At $0.11, Saint-André-Avellin is below the typical town in Quebec ($0.14); La Pocatière is highest at $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.
25% of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than Saint-André-Avellin, which places it in the upper third.
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-André-Avellin’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).
13% of homes tested around Saint-André-Avellin are over the radon guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
More homes than usual test high around Saint-André-Avellin: 13% against 6.6% for the typical Canadian town. Saint-André-Avellin doesn’t get its own radon tests figures; the ones here come from the Outaouais health region.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Saint-André-Avellin’s area, at 13%, is above the median in Quebec (8.2%), and 4.8% of its tests passed 600 Bq/m³.
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-André-Avellin 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.
One home in Saint-André-Avellin 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 Saint-André-Avellin
Alerts for Saint-André-Avellin 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-André-Avellin 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-André-Avellin’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-André-Avellin | Low | $0.11 | 13% | Yes |
| Ripon 1,835 · 7.2 km | Low | $0.090 | 13% | Yes |
| Papineauville 2,332 · 11 km | Low | $0.11 | 13% | Yes |
| Plaisance 1,191 · 13 km | Low | $0.11 | 13% | None listed |
| Montpellier 1,253 · 17 km | Low | $0.092 | 13% | None listed |
Plaisance burns a little more than Saint-André-Avellin, 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-André-Avellin faces
Practical steps for Saint-André-Avellin’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. The radon share comes from about 14,000 long-term home tests in 2009–2011, pooled for now by the 2007 health region Saint-André-Avellin sits in.
- Earthquakes are modelled. NRCan models what earthquakes would cost buildings each year on average, subdivision by subdivision; Saint-André-Avellin’s figure is its subdivision’s.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. A study’s area can be a whole watershed or province, so being on the inventory says a map exists, not that a home in Saint-André-Avellin floods.
- Wildfire counts one way. Wildfire is read from the national burned-area record around Saint-André-Avellin’s homes since 1986, a history of fire that may lower Risk but never raises it.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Saint-André-Avellin
Is radon a problem in Saint-André-Avellin?
13% of the 63 homes Health Canada tested around Saint-André-Avellin topped the guideline; your own house needs its own test.
Is Saint-André-Avellin at risk of wildfire?
Not much by Canadian standards: Saint-André-Avellin’s band is low, with 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986 (last in 2025), so wildfire doesn’t change its grade.
Does Saint-André-Avellin flood?
Saint-André-Avellin’s area has been studied for flooding, and the owner’s map shows which streets lie in a zone; the grade leaves flood out.
How is Saint-André-Avellin’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Saint-André-Avellin grades D for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
How big is the earthquake risk in Saint-André-Avellin?
About $0.11 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for Saint-André-Avellin.
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).