Natural Hazards of Canada

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property="mainContentOfPage" class="container" id="wb-cont"> <h1>Natural Hazards of Canada</h1> <p>Canada borders on three oceans, stretches across six time zones, encompasses mountains, plains, forests and tundra. It hosts weather patterns that range from Arctic to moderate, from seemingly endless rains to drought, from numbing cold to heat waves. With all those landforms and weather types, the possibilities of severe weather and geological events are a constant reality.</p> <p>When a natural hazard affects Canadians to the extent that the community involved needs assistance dealing with the harm that has occurred to people, and possibly the surrounding property and environment, the event becomes known as a <a href="/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/mrgnc-mngmnt-frmwrk/index-en.aspx">disaster</a>.</p> <p>Find out more about the following natural hazards:</p> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-4"> <h2 class="h3"><a href="/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/ntrl-hzrds/rthqk-en.aspx">Earthquakes</a></h2> <p>Earthquakes are perhaps the most dangerous of all natural hazards. They resulted in the loss of more than a million lives worldwide during the 20th century.</p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <h2 class="h3"><a href="/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/ntrl-hzrds/fld-en.aspx">Floods</a></h2> <p>Floods are the most costly natural disasters in Canada in terms of property damage. They can occur in any region, in the countryside or in cities, at virtually any time of the year.</p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <h2 class="h3"><a href="/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/ntrl-hzrds/hl-en.aspx">Hail</a></h2> <p>Hail forms in the core of a thunderstorm. Water vapour in warm, rapidly-rising air masses (convection currents) condenses into water at higher, cooler altitudes producing heavy rain showers.</p> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-4"> <h2 class="h3"><a href="/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/ntrl-hzrds/cbrg-en.aspx">Icebergs, sea ice and fog</a></h2> <p>Much of Canada's coastline has permanent or seasonal sea ice. Like icebergs, but less so, sea ice can be a hazard to offshore structures, fishing and navigation.</p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <h2 class="h3"><a href="/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/ntrl-hzrds/lndsld-vlnch-en.aspx">Landslides and snow avalanches</a></h2> <p>Landslides and avalanches have resulted in more than 600 deaths in Canada since 1840 and have caused billions of dollars in damage.</p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <h2 class="h3"><a href="/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/ntrl-hzrds/trnd-en.aspx">Tornadoes</a></h2> <p>Tornadoes are unmistakable rotating columns of high-velocity wind that brings devastation to anything in their path.</p> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-4"> <h2 class="h3"><a href="/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/ntrl-hzrds/tsnm-srg-en.aspx">Tsunamis and storm surges</a></h2> <p>Tsunamis and storm surges are caused by different events but both result in flooding and damage to coastal areas.</p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <h2 class="h3"><a href="/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/ntrl-hzrds/vlcnc-rptn-en.aspx">Volcanic eruptions</a></h2> <p>Volcanoes may seem to be non-existent in Canada. There has been only one documented volcanic eruption in Canada in more-recent historical times, but there are many dormant volcanoes in western Canada, particularly in northwestern British Columbia.</p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <h2 class="h3"><a href="/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/ntrl-hzrds/wntr-strm-en.aspx">Winter Storms</a></h2> <p>Winter storms are a reality for all parts of Canada. These severe storms typically involve a sustained combination of heavy snowfall, cold temperatures and high winds.</p> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-4"> <h2 class="h3"><a href="/cnt/rsrcs/cndn-dsstr-dtbs/index-en.aspx">Canadian Disaster Database</a></h2> <p>The Canadian Disaster Database is an inventory of disasters that have directly affected Canadians since 1900 and that meet certain other criteria. Consult the Canadian Disaster Database to find out about natural hazards that have had disastrous effects on Canadians.</p> </div> </div> <div class="row mrgn-tp-xl"> <div class="col-md-6"> <h2 class="h3">Emergency Management News Releases</h2> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class="list-group-item"> <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2024/10/minister-sajjan-marks-the-international-day-on-disaster-risk-reduction.html">Minister Sajjan marks the International Day on Disaster Risk Reduction</a> <br /> <small class="text-muted">October 11, 2024</small> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2024/10/statement-by-minister-sajjan-on-fire-prevention-week.html">Statement by Minister Sajjan on Fire Prevention Week</a> <br /> <small class="text-muted">October 6, 2024</small> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2024/09/government-of-canada-invests-to-strengthen-public-safety-and-support-youth-in-kent-county-nb.html">Government of Canada invests to strengthen public safety and support youth in Kent County, N.B.</a> <br /> <small class="text-muted">September 20, 2024</small> </li> </ul> <p><a href="/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/nws-rlss-en.aspx">More Emergency Management News Releases</a></p> </div> <div class="col-md-6"> <h2 class="h3">Emergency Management Publications and Reports</h2> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <ul class='list-unstyled'><li class='list-group-item'><a href="/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2024-pblc-rdr-mrgncy-rcmmndtns/index-en.aspx">Government of Canada Response to the Public Order Emergency Commission Recommendations</a></li><li class='list-group-item'><a href="/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2024-ems-ctn-rs/index-en.aspx">Advancing the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Emergency Management Strategy: Areas for Action</a></li><li class='list-group-item'><a href="/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/vltn-nttvs-ddrss-pts-njrs/index-en.aspx">Evaluation of the Initiatives to Address Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries (PTSI) Evaluation Report</a></li><li class='list-group-item'><a href="/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/vltn-nttvs-ddrss-pts-njrs-smmry/index-en.aspx">Summary of the Evaluation of the Initiatives to Address Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries (PTSI) Among Public Safety Officers</a></li><li class='list-group-item'><a href="/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2023-nrp-pnr/index-en.aspx">The First Public Report of the National Risk Profile</a></li></ul> </ul> <p><a href="/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/index-en.aspx?t=mrgnc-mngmnt">More Emergency Management Publications and Reports</a></p> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix"></div> <dl id="wb-dtmd"> <dt>Date modified: </dt> <dd><time property="dateModified">2022-08-12</time></dd> </dl> </main>  <footer role="contentinfo" id="wb-info" class="visible-sm visible-md visible-lg wb-navcurr"> <div class="container"> <nav role="navigation"> <h2>About this 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Natural Hazards of Canada