Photo: Roncanada · CC BY 4.0Flood mapping exists for Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier: 1 on record, latest by Gouvernement du Québec
Little of the land around Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier has burned: 0% within 25 km since 1986, or 0.001% a year. Seismic risk runs high: $0.14 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. Fewer homes than usual carry radon here, 3.9% over the guideline where the typical town has 6.6%. Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier grades B− for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier grades B− for hazard risk
For Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier, Risk will be the average of earthquakes and radon, with wildfire added only if it makes the average worse.
How sure: Earthquake losses are a model’s expectation over many years, not a forecast for any one. Only 77 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 Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier: 0% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Past fire around Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier’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 Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier, 0.000% for the typical Canadian town.
Close to Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier there is little to burn (2.9% forest fuel within 5 km), but 10% of the land within 25 km is forest.
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, Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier 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.
Beside 2,610 Canadian towns, Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier 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.
A flood study covers Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier, from Gouvernement du Québec: 1 on the inventory
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
For Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier the inventory points to Gouvernement du Québec’s 1996 study, whose map is the one to check.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Varennes-Grondines | Gouvernement du Québec | 1996 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Flood maps are thinner in Quebec, 45% of towns against 58% nationally, but Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier has one.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Flood mapping is shown for Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier 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 Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier $0.14 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier’s $0.14 is about 4.6 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
Typical for its province: Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier at $0.14 beside a median in Quebec of $0.14, with La Pocatière on top 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.
In the upper part of Canada’s range: 20% of its 2,611 towns expect more damage than Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier.
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).
The loss is to Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier’s buildings alone, from ground shaking; infrastructure and secondary hazards are left out.
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 Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier: 3.9% of tested homes over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · Area-wide: radon tests, counted over the Lanaudiere health region
Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier’s area, at 3.9%, is below the 6.6% of the typical Canadian town, though any one home can still be high.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Fewer homes top the guideline around Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier (3.9%) than in the typical town in Quebec (8.2%).
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Under 5% puts Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier with 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; 63% have more high tests.
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 Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier 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 Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier
Alerts for Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier 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 Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier to phones; CWFIS shows the day’s fire danger.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier | Low | $0.14 | 3.9% | Yes |
| Berthierville 4,591 · 4.1 km | Low | $0.14 | 3.9% | Yes |
| Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola 2,170 · 8.4 km | Low | $0.11 | 3.9% | Yes |
| Saint-Joseph-de-Sorel 1,602 · 9.1 km | Low | $0.18 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Saint-Cuthbert 1,865 · 9.8 km | Low | $0.12 | 3.9% | Yes |
| Sorel-Tracy 36,537 · 10 km | Low | $0.15 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Sainte-Élisabeth 1,473 · 11 km | Low | $0.14 | 3.9% | None listed |
Fire is no heavier anywhere nearby than around Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier (low), with Berthierville next at low.
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier faces
Practical steps for Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier’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
- 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 Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier.
- Earthquakes are modelled. Shaking damage is modelled from the ground, the buildings and the odds of each quake, and published for whole subdivisions such as Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier’s.
- Wildfire counts one way. The wildfire figure is the share of land within 25 km of Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier’s homes burned each year from 1986 to 2025, past fire rather than a forecast, and it can only lower Risk.
- Radon is a survey. Health Canada’s survey tested some 14,000 homes over three months; until postal-area boundaries are loaded, Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier takes its 2007 health region’s share.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier
How is Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier’s Hazard risk grade is B−, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
Does Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier flood?
The inventory lists a study touching Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier; whether a given street floods is on that map, not in the grade.
Is Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier at risk of wildfire?
Not much by Canadian standards: Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier’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.
Is radon a problem in Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier?
3.9% of the 77 homes Health Canada tested around Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier topped the guideline; your own house needs its own test.
How big is the earthquake risk in Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier’s buildings lose $0.14 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).