Natural Disasters and How They Happen

About Natural Disasters and How They Happen

Natural Disasters and How They Happen is a free general knowledge quiz with 15 multiple-choice questions with a mix of 7 easy, 6 medium, 2 hard questions. Explore the fascinating science behind earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and other powerful forces of nature. A typical run takes about 7 minutes, hints are always one tap away, and your streak ticks up the first time you finish a game on a given day.

A few sample questions

1. 1. What causes an earthquake?

   Answer: The shifting and grinding of tectonic plates beneath the Earth's surface

   Earthquakes occur when tectonic plates — the massive slabs that make up Earth's outer shell — suddenly slip or grind against each other, releasing enormous energy as seismic waves. There are about 20,000 earthquakes around the world every year.

2. 2. A hurricane, a typhoon, and a cyclone are all the same type of storm. What makes them different?

   Answer: The ocean where they form — the name changes depending on the region

   They are all the same kind of powerful tropical storm, just called different names based on location. In the Atlantic and eastern Pacific they are called hurricanes, in the western Pacific they are typhoons, and in the Indian Ocean they are cyclones.

3. 3. What is a tsunami?

   Answer: A series of giant ocean waves usually caused by an underwater earthquake

   A tsunami is a series of large, powerful waves most often triggered by an underwater earthquake, though volcanic eruptions or submarine landslides can also cause them. The word tsunami comes from Japanese and means "harbor wave."

4. 4. The Richter scale is used to measure which natural disaster?

   Answer: Earthquakes

   The Richter scale, developed by Charles Richter in 1935, measures the magnitude — or size — of earthquakes. Each whole number step up on the scale represents about 31 times more energy released.

5. 5. What is the name of the scale used to measure the intensity of tornadoes?

   Answer: The Enhanced Fujita Scale

   The Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale) rates tornado intensity from EF0 (weakest) to EF5 (most violent), based on damage caused. It was updated from the original Fujita Scale in 2007 to better reflect different types of structures and vegetation.

Things you'll learn along the way

• ✓The great San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906 measured about 7.9 in magnitude and was followed by devastating fires that burned for three days. It remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history, killing an estimated 3,000 people.
• ✓The Ring of Fire is a horseshoe-shaped zone encircling the Pacific Ocean where tectonic plates meet. It is home to about 75% of the world's volcanoes and is the site of roughly 90% of the world's earthquakes.
• ✓Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005 and caused catastrophic flooding in New Orleans when its levee system failed. The storm caused over 1,800 deaths and more than $125 billion in damage, making it one of the deadliest U.S. hurricanes in a century.