Photo: Veillg1 · CC BY-SA 4.0Wildfire low, radon 8.2%: how Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot stands on hazards
No wildfire is mapped within 25 km of Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’s homes since 1986 (0% of the land, 0.000% a year). Shaking is a bigger worry than in most places, at $0.13 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). Hazard risk gives Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot a grade of C, from earthquakes and radon alone.
What stands out about Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’s hazards
For Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot grades C for hazard risk
Seismic risk and radon set Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’s grade, wildfire can drag it down, and flood mapping stays out of it.
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.
Little of the land around Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot has burned: 0% within 5 km, 0% within 25 km since 1986
Past fire around Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
Forty years of fire maps put Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot at 0.000% a year, low next to the typical Canadian town’s 0.000%.
Since 1986 the nearest fire to Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’s homes came within 19 km, never inside 5 km.
With 2% forest fuel within 5 km and 4.1% within 25 km, the land around Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot gives a fire little to burn.
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
Fire has taken almost none of the land around Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot, as for 145 of the 514 towns in Quebec; Mistissini tops the list 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.
Measured against 2,610 towns, Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot is in the largest group, low (92%), and at its floor, while 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 Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
No flood study on the national inventory covers Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot; ask the municipality, which is the authority for its flood maps.
Towns with a flood study on file
Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot has no flood study on file; only 45% of towns in Quebec do, against 58% across Canada.
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 Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot.
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 Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot $0.13 per $1,000 a year
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
Roughly 4.2 times the typical $0.030: Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’s $0.13 marks real seismic exposure.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Neither high nor low in Quebec: Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’s $0.13 sits by the median of $0.14, while La Pocatière reaches $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.
23% of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot, 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 Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot 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).
8.2% of homes tested around Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot are over the radon guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · Source area for radon tests: the Monteregie health region
Around Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot, 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; Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’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.
37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns share Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’s band of 5 to 10%; 26% sit higher.
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.
Health Canada advises testing every home, Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’s included, whatever the area’s figure.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot
Alerts for Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot 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 Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot 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)
Hazards in the places around Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot | Low | $0.13 | 8.2% | None listed |
| Saint-Eugène 1,180 · 7.7 km | Low | $0.12 | 0% | None listed |
| Saint-Simon 1,474 · 9.6 km | Low | $0.12 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Saint-Liboire 3,123 · 9.6 km | Low | $0.12 | 8.2% | None listed |
| Upton 2,149 · 9.9 km | Low | $0.11 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Saint-Hugues 1,414 · 12 km | Low | $0.13 | 8.2% | Yes |
| Saint-Théodore-d'Acton 1,650 · 14 km | Low | $0.099 | 8.2% | Yes |
Among its neighbours Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot has the most fire on record (low); Saint-Eugène follows (low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot faces
Practical steps for Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’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?
- Ask the municipality for flood maps.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
- Is earthquake cover included?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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 Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot.
- 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 Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot floods.
- 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 Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot sits in.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’s included.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot
Is radon a problem in Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot?
The area’s survey found 8.2% of 110 tested homes above Health Canada’s guideline, so a three-month test is worth doing in Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot.
Does Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot flood?
The inventory has 0 studies for Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot, and an empty list isn’t a clean bill: the municipality holds any flood maps.
How big is the earthquake risk in Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’s buildings lose $0.13 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
Is Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot at risk of wildfire?
Some, but Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’s low band (0% of nearby land burned since 1986, latest 2025) is short of the level that counts.
How is Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot grades C 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).