Natural Disasters in World History Quiz

Answer: Hurricane

Most lives were lost when a storm surge caised by the hurricane struck the port city of Galveston, Texas in September, 1900.

Answer: Palm Sunday

There have actually been two such events to occur on Palm Sunday, but this outbreak, which affected most of the midwest U.S., is ranked behind the 1974 'Super Outbreak' and the 1889 'Enigma' outbreak.

Answer: Krakatoa

The August 1883 explosion that destroyed three quarters of this Indonesian island was heard up to 3,000 miles away. Residents in Texas, half a world away, reportedly heard cannons.

Answer: Tornado Alley

Although tornadoes occur year-round, the primary season for developement is Spring through early Summer

Answer: Kentucky

695 persons died in this, the greatest single killer tornado in U.S. history, decimating the towns of Annapolis, MO, West Frankfort, DeSoto and Murphysboro, IL and Griffin, IN. Amazingly, many victims were farmers, noted for their ability to forcast severe storms in time to seek shelter from the lands they worked.

Answer: St. Pierre

This city of 29,000 on the Caribbean island of Martinique was bombarded by pyroclastic flow, a scalding hot choking ash from Mt. Pelee on May 8, 1902. Only two residents survived.

Answer: Siberia

The impact site of this unusual occurrence was centered near Tunguska in Siberia.

Answer: F

Named for Dr. Ted Fujita, whos work at the University of Chicago greatly increased knowledge of these erratic storms. The scale ranges from F-1 (minor) to F-5 (devastating). Although less than five percent of tornadoes reach F-5, these are responsible for almost 90 percent of all tornado deaths.

Answer: Alaska

The Good Friday, 1964 quake in Anchorage, AK, measuered 9.2 on the Richter Scale. The great New Madrid, MO earthquake of December, 1811 was believed to have measured 8.0 or higher, but the scale had not been invented yet. Although only one death was attributed to the quake, had this occurred today, the death toll and destruction would be almost incalculable.

Answer: Andrew

This 1992 storm slammed into southern Florida, causing about 25 billion dollars in damage. In August 2002, officials with the National Hurricane Center--using damage reports--upgraded this storm to a Category 5 when it made landfall.