Hazards

Natural Resources Canada monitors potential natural hazards, helps Canadians prepare to respond to disasters, and shares information about the risks of natural processes or phenomena that may be a damaging event with Canadians.

The Public Safety Geoscience Program undertakes hazard research to support risk reduction from the effects of space weather, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, landslides and marine geohazards. The program develops knowledge and tools to reduce future economic, social and environmental losses from these hazards. These products help guide land-use decisions; increase the resilience of built structures; and inform the location, design and operations of new structures.

The Canadian Hazards Information Service provides hazard information and response to emergency situations involving earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides, geomagnetic storms and radiological / nuclear incidents.

Earthquakes Canada is the authoritative source of recent and historical Canadian earthquake information.  Along with providing the ability to find earthquakes, data and real-time waveforms Earthquakes Canada provides general earthquake information, the ability to report an earthquake and tools for engineers to calculate hazards.

Space Weather Canada provides space environment forecasts and short-term and long-term forecasts of geomagnetic activity in Canada as well as information about effects on technology.  NRCan also operates the Canadian Geomagnetic Observatory Network to provide data about the Earth's magnetic field and calculators of the magnetic field and magnetic declination.

The Canadian Forest Service (CFS) has been involved in forest fire research for decades. The CFS works with partners across the country to increase the knowledge base about wildland fires, and to improve the ability of authorities to predict and manage risks and benefits.

The Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) at the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO), produces near real-time satellite-derived river ice break-up and open water flood extent maps to emergency management authorities responding to ice break-up and major flood events in Canada and abroad. Federal Floodplain Mapping Guidelines developed by CCMEO with Public Safety Canada are helping to improve the accuracy of floodplain mapping programs across Canada.