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Quiz about Natural Disasters
Quiz about Natural Disasters

Natural Disasters Trivia Quiz


Natural disasters strike the earth with tremendous regularity, evidenced by the growing number of such deadly disasters each year. Do you think you know alot about some famous disasters? Test yourself and see!

A multiple-choice quiz by lsvitko. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
lsvitko
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
3,066
Updated
Sep 02 23
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
8 / 15
Plays
3586
Last 3 plays: Guest 174 (6/15), Guest 3 (9/15), Guest 119 (6/15).
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Question 1 of 15
1. In 1923, a massive earthquake struck Tokyo, killing 99,000 people. The quake, however, was not directly responsible for most of the deaths. What was? Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. What was the name of the city which was completely destroyed by Mont Pelee in Martinique when it erupted on May 8, 1902? Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. The explosion of which of the following volcanoes in 1669 caused a local war? Hint


Question 4 of 15
4. Where did the worst quake disaster in terms of death and destruction ever recorded take place? Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. Tsunamis can crest at more than how many feet? Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. Where did the largest known tsunami take place? Hint


Question 7 of 15
7. In what year did the island of Krakatoa explode? Hint


Question 8 of 15
8. An earthquake whose epicenter was 100 miles away from Anchorage, Alaska buckled and cracked the sidewalks of that city in 1964, and made the land rise and fall visibly over an area estimated at 80,000 square miles. The resulting tsunamis destroyed sections of Valdez, Alaska and Crescent City, California as well. On which of the following holidays did the earthquake occur? Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. What was the name of the volcano which erupted in 1783 in Iceland, killing 1 in 5 of the island's inhabitants and opening up a fissure 18 miles long? Hint


Question 10 of 15
10. Who witnessed and wrote about the eruption of Vesuvius and the resulting destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum? Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. Which of the following events coincided with one of New Zealand's worst natural disasters, a huge mudflow composed of some 600 million gallons of hot acidic water and debris which burst from the crater lake of Ruapehu, in 1953? Hint


Question 12 of 15
12. Which of these caused the highest number of deaths? Hint


Question 13 of 15
13. In 1951 a commercial airliner was almost brought down by ash from an erupting volcano.


Question 14 of 15
14. Who was the first person to name hurricanes? Hint


Question 15 of 15
15. A hurricane releases as much energy as four hundred 20-megaton H-bombs every minute.



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 27 2024 : Guest 174: 6/15
Mar 26 2024 : Guest 3: 9/15
Mar 26 2024 : Guest 119: 6/15
Mar 24 2024 : Guest 174: 4/15
Mar 19 2024 : Guest 201: 4/15
Mar 14 2024 : Guest 65: 5/15
Mar 14 2024 : notsaintdane: 0/15
Mar 12 2024 : Guest 69: 9/15
Mar 10 2024 : Guest 58: 8/15

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In 1923, a massive earthquake struck Tokyo, killing 99,000 people. The quake, however, was not directly responsible for most of the deaths. What was?

Answer: Firestorms immediately after the quake.

The earthquake set off several fires as it brought down power cables and shattered gas mains. Hundreds of other fires started when family cooking stoves fell to the ground, igniting the wood and paper from which most of the houses were built. Almost half the city was destroyed but almost all of the damage was caused by fire.
2. What was the name of the city which was completely destroyed by Mont Pelee in Martinique when it erupted on May 8, 1902?

Answer: St. Pierre

Only three people survived this disaster: a prisoner, named August Cyparis, who was in the basement of a stone jail in the {city;} a {priest;} and a man driving a pony carriage on the outskirts of town. The entire population of 28,000 perished except for these three men.
3. The explosion of which of the following volcanoes in 1669 caused a local war?

Answer: Mount Etna

An attempt to divert the lava flow after an eruption on Mount Etna in Sicily in 1669 caused the citizens of nearby Catania to try to save their city by forcing the lava flow in a different direction. However, they were attacked by the citizens of Paterno, a village threatened by the lava's new course.

The Catanians were routed and the lava flowed back on its original course. It destroyed the western half of Catania.
4. Where did the worst quake disaster in terms of death and destruction ever recorded take place?

Answer: Shenshi Province, China

An earthquake devastated China's densely populated Shenshi Province in 1556, killing an estimated 830,000 people in the worst quake disaster ever recorded. Many victims were buried alive when their cave homes collapsed, and others perished from the famine and disease that followed.
5. Tsunamis can crest at more than how many feet?

Answer: 200

Tsunamis can build in shallow water into crests that can be more than 200 feet high (61m), with speeds of up to 490 mph. As they approach the land, they suck back the sea, beaching ships in harbors. The giant waves then crash into shores, causing enormous destruction.
6. Where did the largest known tsunami take place?

Answer: Ishigaki-shima in the Ryukyu island chain

In April, 1971, the wave roared past Ishigaki-shima, the largest island in the Ryukyu island chain in the western Pacific Ocean. It was not known to cause any damage and dissipated its power in the open sea. Astonishingly, the largest wave known was NOT a {tsunami;} it was caused by a landslide that sent some 100 million tons of rock crashing into remove Lituya Bay in Alaska in 1958.

The slide produced a single immense crest which swamped the hills on the opposite side of the bay to a height of nearly 1,700 feet and then raced harmlessly out to sea.
7. In what year did the island of Krakatoa explode?

Answer: 1883

Surprisingly, the explosion of the volcano itself killed nobody. Tsunamis which followed the violent explosion (which was heard as far as 3,000 miles away) killed 36,000 people.
8. An earthquake whose epicenter was 100 miles away from Anchorage, Alaska buckled and cracked the sidewalks of that city in 1964, and made the land rise and fall visibly over an area estimated at 80,000 square miles. The resulting tsunamis destroyed sections of Valdez, Alaska and Crescent City, California as well. On which of the following holidays did the earthquake occur?

Answer: Good Friday

The quake measured 9.2 on the Richter scale, and killed 12 people in Crescent City.
9. What was the name of the volcano which erupted in 1783 in Iceland, killing 1 in 5 of the island's inhabitants and opening up a fissure 18 miles long?

Answer: Laki

Lava from this volcanic eruption covered an area of 221 square miles and caused disease and famine which killed more than 10,500 people and three-quarters of Iceland's livestock.
10. Who witnessed and wrote about the eruption of Vesuvius and the resulting destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum?

Answer: Pliny the Younger

The earliest recorded scientific account of a volcanic eruption was given in A.D. 79 by Pliny the Younger, who witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius from a spot 20 miles away from the destruction.
11. Which of the following events coincided with one of New Zealand's worst natural disasters, a huge mudflow composed of some 600 million gallons of hot acidic water and debris which burst from the crater lake of Ruapehu, in 1953?

Answer: Queen Elizabeths' Coronation Tour

During the Queen's Coronation Tour of New Zealand, the mudflow struck by racing down the Whangaehu River, demolishing the Tangiwai Bridge which carried the Auckland to Wellington rail line. Five minutes after the bridge collapsed, a night express train plunged into the ravine and was swept away by the {mudflow;} 151 passengers lost their lives.
12. Which of these caused the highest number of deaths?

Answer: 1347-1351 bubonic plague (Black Death)

The mid-14th century Bubonic plague ('Black Death') killed an estimated 75 to 100 million and was by far the worst disaster based on commonly accepted data. The number of deaths from the 1918 Influenza is estimated at 25 to 50 million.
13. In 1951 a commercial airliner was almost brought down by ash from an erupting volcano.

Answer: True

On 21st January 1951, a Qantas airliner being flown over Mount Lamington in Papua New Guinea. It was prevented from being 'shot down' by fine ash from the erupting volcano (until then dormant) by a skillful pilot who kept control and flew the aircraft out of the danger zone. However, almost 3,000 people died near Mount Lamington from the ash blast of the volcano.
14. Who was the first person to name hurricanes?

Answer: Clement L. Wragge

A 19th Century Australian weatherman named Clement L. Wragge started naming hurricanes with biblical names such as Sacar, Talmon and Uphaz. Later, a whistling U.S. radio operator started the 20th century system of naming hurricanes and typhoons. He was overheard whistling a line from a popular song, 'Louise,' just as reports of a storm were being broadcast during World War II.

The storm was instantly named Louise and the custom caught on.
15. A hurricane releases as much energy as four hundred 20-megaton H-bombs every minute.

Answer: True

Source: Author lsvitko

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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