Saint-Norbert’s hazards at a glance: a low wildfire record and 3.9% of area homes over the radon guideline
Little of the land around Saint-Norbert has burned: 0.1% within 25 km since 1986, or 0.001% a year. Shaking is a bigger worry than in most places, at $0.11 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). Saint-Norbert grades B for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Saint-Norbert’s hazards
For Saint-Norbert, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Saint-Norbert 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-Norbert: B
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Saint-Norbert with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. Only 77 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.
Wildfire is rare near Saint-Norbert: 0.1% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Past fire around Saint-Norbert’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
Low by Canadian standards: 0.001% of the land a year around Saint-Norbert, 0.000% for the typical Canadian town.
Fire has stayed at least 14 km from Saint-Norbert’s homes since 1986.
The ring nearest Saint-Norbert is the most wooded: 24% forest fuel within 5 km against 18% 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
At 0.001% a year, Saint-Norbert ranks 136th of the 514 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.
Some fire is mapped around Saint-Norbert, but not enough to leave the low band, where 92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns are; 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-Norbert
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Saint-Norbert: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
An empty entry for Saint-Norbert on the inventory isn’t proof of safety; ask locally for flood maps.
Towns with a flood study on file
Mapping in Quebec reaches 45% of towns, below the 58% across Canada, and not Saint-Norbert.
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-Norbert 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.”
Earthquakes cost buildings in Saint-Norbert $0.11 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
The typical town loses $0.030 a year to shaking; Saint-Norbert loses $0.11, 3.6 times as much.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Saint-Norbert’s $0.11 sits under the median in Quebec, $0.14, and well under La Pocatière’s $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-Norbert, 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).
Only shaking damage to buildings in Saint-Norbert 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).
Radon runs low around Saint-Norbert: 3.9% of tested homes over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline.
Saint-Norbert’s survey area reads 3.9% over the guideline, under the typical Canadian town’s 6.6%. Behind radon tests sits data gathered across the Lanaudiere health region, with Saint-Norbert one part of it.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Radon runs lower around Saint-Norbert than in most towns in Quebec: 3.9% against 8.2%.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Saint-Norbert 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.
Radon varies from house to house in Saint-Norbert, so the survey is a reason to test, not a result for yours.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Saint-Norbert
Alerts for Saint-Norbert 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. |
Alert Ready carries evacuation orders for Saint-Norbert to phones; CWFIS shows the day’s fire danger.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Hazards in the places around Saint-Norbert
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Norbert | Low | $0.11 | 3.9% | None listed |
| Saint-Cuthbert 1,865 · 6.8 km | Low | $0.12 | 3.9% | Yes |
| Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon 2,916 · 8.0 km | Low | $0.074 | 3.9% | None listed |
| Saint-Félix-de-Valois 7,670 · 10 km | Low | $0.089 | 3.9% | None listed |
| Saint-Gabriel 3,091 · 11 km | Low | $0.088 | 3.9% | Yes |
| Sainte-Élisabeth 1,473 · 12 km | Low | $0.14 | 3.9% | None listed |
| Saint-Barthélemy 2,115 · 13 km | Low | $0.10 | 3.9% | Yes |
Saint-Félix-de-Valois burns a little more than Saint-Norbert, 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-Norbert faces
What to do about the hazards Saint-Norbert 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
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. Flood studies cover areas of every size, which is why the page lists them for Saint-Norbert without grading them.
- Wildfire counts one way. For Saint-Norbert, wildfire means how much nearby land burned in the past forty years, a one-way input that can pull Risk down and nothing more.
- Earthquakes are modelled. Seismic risk is NRCan’s model of yearly building losses from shaking, averaged over many years and given for Saint-Norbert’s census subdivision (a neighbourhood shows its city’s).
- Radon is a survey. Radon figures pool the survey’s home tests by area: postal areas once their boundaries arrive, the 2007 health region around Saint-Norbert until then.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Saint-Norbert
Is radon a problem in Saint-Norbert?
Around Saint-Norbert, 77 survey homes were tested and 3.9% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
How big is the earthquake risk in Saint-Norbert?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Saint-Norbert’s buildings lose $0.11 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
Does Saint-Norbert flood?
With 0 studies on the inventory, Saint-Norbert’s flood risk is unmapped nationally; check with the municipality before buying.
Is Saint-Norbert at risk of wildfire?
Fire has reached 0.1% of the land around Saint-Norbert since 1986 (last in 2025); at low, it neither helps nor hurts the grade.
How is Saint-Norbert’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Saint-Norbert grades B for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
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).