Photo: SamuelFreli · CC BY-SA 3.0Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford is on Canada’s flood inventory: 1 listed, led by Gouvernement du Québec
For Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford, wildfire history is close to nil: 0% of nearby land since 1986, 0.000% a year. NRCan expects $0.057 of shaking damage a year per $1,000 of buildings in Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford, near the typical $0.030. Radon is about average around Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford: 8.2% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town. Hazard risk gives Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford a grade of C+, from earthquakes and radon alone.
What stands out about Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford’s hazards
For Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford grades C+ for hazard risk
Two inputs always count for Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford, earthquakes and radon; the third, wildfire, counts only against a town.
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.
Few fires near Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km
Past fire around Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
A burn rate of 0.000% a year keeps Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford in the low band (the typical Canadian town: 0.000%).
15% of the land within 5 km of Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford is forest fuel, close to the 16% 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 514
To three decimals the burn rate around Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford is zero, as for 145 of the 514 towns in Quebec, while Mistissini reaches 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-Joachim-de-Shefford 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.
A flood study covers Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford, from Gouvernement du Québec: 1 on the inventory
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
The flood study touching Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford is Gouvernement du Québec’s, dated 1991; its own map shows the zones street by street.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo | Gouvernement du Québec | 1991 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Flood maps are thinner in Quebec, 45% of towns against 58% nationally, but Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford has one.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Flood is shown here, never graded: a study says where a map exists, not how many of Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford’s homes stand in a flood zone.
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-Joachim-de-Shefford $0.057 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
With $0.057 of shaking damage a year per $1,000, Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford is about even with the typical $0.030 (1.9 times).
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
At $0.057, Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford 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.
More earthquake risk than most: only 30% of Canada’s 2,611 towns are above Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford.
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).
What a quake does after the shaking, fire, landslides, tsunami, falls outside NRCan’s figure for Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
Some radon around Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford: 8.2% of area homes over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline.
Around Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford, 8.2% of tested homes topped the guideline, near the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
The typical town in Quebec has 8.2% over 200 Bq/m³; Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford’s area has 8.2%, much the same.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford 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.
A low area share in Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford doesn’t clear a house, nor does a high one condemn it: test.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011). · Not measured by town: radon tests (the Monteregie health region)
Where to get warnings in Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford; 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. |
Smoke and fire warnings for Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford come through Environment Canada and Alert Ready; the fire map is CWFIS’s.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford’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-Joachim-de-Shefford | Low | $0.057 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Roxton 1,180 · 9.8 km | Low | $0.077 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Roxton Pond 4,884 · 11 km | Low | $0.071 | 8.2% | None listed |
| Waterloo 5,714 · 12 km | Low | $0.051 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Shefford 7,704 · 12 km | Low | $0.052 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Roxton Falls 1,399 · 13 km | Low | $0.058 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Valcourt 1,081 · 15 km | Low | $0.054 | 7.3% | Yes |
Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford’s low band tops its neighbours; Roxton is next (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford faces
What to do about the hazards Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford 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
- 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-Joachim-de-Shefford sits in.
- 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 Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford’s included.
- 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-Joachim-de-Shefford floods.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford
How big is the earthquake risk in Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford’s buildings lose $0.057 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
Is Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford at risk of wildfire?
The burned-area record shows next to nothing around Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford (0% within 25 km since 1986), so its band is low.
How is Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford’s Hazard risk grade is C+, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
Does Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford flood?
Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford’s area has been studied for flooding, and the owner’s map shows which streets lie in a zone; the grade leaves flood out.
Is radon a problem in Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford?
In Health Canada’s survey, 8.2% of 110 homes tested in Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford’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).