Photo: Fralambert · CC BY-SA 3.0Hazards in Saint-Maurice: wildfire low, radon over the guideline in 0% of tested homes
Wildfire is rare near Saint-Maurice: 0.1% of the land within 25 km has burned since 1986, a burn rate of 0.002% a year. Earthquakes add more: NRCan’s model puts building losses at $0.11 a year per $1,000 of value, against $0.030 for the typical town. Hazard risk gives Saint-Maurice a grade of B+; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about Saint-Maurice’s hazards
For Saint-Maurice, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Saint-Maurice 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-Maurice: B+
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Saint-Maurice with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
Its place: #26 of 507 in Quebec and #911 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. Only 58 homes were tested in the survey area, so the radon share is rough. The burned-area record misses fires under about 10 ha and most grass and farm fires.
Little of the land around Saint-Maurice has burned: 0.1% within 5 km, 0.1% within 25 km since 1986
Past fire around Saint-Maurice’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
Forty years of fire maps put Saint-Maurice at 0.002% a year, low next to the typical Canadian town’s 0.000%.
About as much forest grows next to Saint-Maurice’s homes (31% within 5 km) as across 25 km (28%).
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
Saint-Maurice ranks 35th of the 513 towns in Quebec for burn rate, at 0.002% a year; Mistissini leads with 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-Maurice 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.
The flood map inventory lists nothing for Saint-Maurice
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Saint-Maurice: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
No flood study on the national inventory covers Saint-Maurice; ask the municipality, which is the authority for its flood maps.
Towns with a flood study on file
Mapping in Quebec reaches 45% of towns, below the 58% across Canada, and not Saint-Maurice.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Flood studies don’t enter the grade; they are listed so you can open the official map for Saint-Maurice.
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-Maurice’s costliest hazard: $0.11 a year per $1,000
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
At $0.11 per $1,000, Saint-Maurice carries roughly 3.6 times the typical Canadian town’s earthquake risk ($0.030).
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Below the middle in Quebec: Saint-Maurice’s $0.11 against a median of $0.14; La Pocatière has $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 25% of Canada’s 2,611 towns are above Saint-Maurice.
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).
Only shaking damage to buildings in Saint-Maurice is counted; landslides, liquefaction, tsunami and fire after a quake aren’t.
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 Saint-Maurice: 0% of area homes over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline.
A lower share than most: 0% of tested homes around Saint-Maurice, the typical Canadian town 6.6%. Saint-Maurice doesn’t get its own radon tests figures; the ones here come from the Mauricie et Centre-du-Quebec health region.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Saint-Maurice’s area, at 0%, is below the median in Quebec (8.2%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Saint-Maurice 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.
Whatever Saint-Maurice’s area share, the reading that matters is your own home’s, over a winter.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Saint-Maurice
Alerts for Saint-Maurice 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. |
Fire danger and active fires near Saint-Maurice are mapped daily by the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System; evacuation orders come from the municipality or province.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Hazards in the places around Saint-Maurice
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Maurice | Low | $0.11 | 0% | None listed |
| Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel 6,613 · 11 km | Low | $0.098 | 0% | None listed |
| Champlain 1,957 · 12 km | Low | $0.12 | 0% | Yes |
| Trois-Rivières 149,934 · 12 km | Low | $0.13 | 0% | Yes |
| Saint-Narcisse 1,848 · 13 km | Low | $0.11 | 0% | None listed |
| Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan 1,137 · 16 km | Low | $0.13 | 0% | Yes |
| Bécancour 14,943 · 18 km | Low | $0.13 | 0% | Yes |
Among its neighbours Saint-Maurice has the most fire on record (low); Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel follows (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Saint-Maurice faces
What to do about the hazards Saint-Maurice 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
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Saint-Maurice’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-Maurice floods.
- 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-Maurice.
- 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-Maurice sits in.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Saint-Maurice
Does Saint-Maurice flood?
Nothing is listed for Saint-Maurice on the national inventory (0); local maps may still exist with the municipality.
Is Saint-Maurice at risk of wildfire?
Less than most of Canada: 0.1% of the land within 25 km of Saint-Maurice has burned since 1986, the last in 2024, a low band that leaves Risk alone.
Is radon a problem in Saint-Maurice?
In Health Canada’s survey, 0% of 58 homes tested in Saint-Maurice’s area were above 200 Bq/m³, though only a test tells you about one house.
How is Saint-Maurice’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Saint-Maurice’s Hazard risk grade is B+, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
How big is the earthquake risk in Saint-Maurice?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Saint-Maurice’s buildings lose $0.11 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).