NewsTracker Answers for week of Sep. 12, 2011

Q: The remnants of Tropical Storm Irene dumped rain across Pennsylvania causing rivers to swell, submerging towns and forcing thousands of people flee. Where is Pennsylvania?

Circle the area on this map

Q: Flooded areas of Pennsylvania and New York were declared major disaster areas. New York is Pennsylvania's neighbor to the . . .

A. North

B. East

C. South

D. West

A. Pennsylvania borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north and New Jersey to the east.

Q: The storm dropped 12 inches of rain on Pennsylvania's capital of . . .

A. Albany

B. Harrisburg

C. Philadelphia

D. Trenton

B. Harrisburg was named state capital in 1812. The state's first capital was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's largest city and former capital of the United States.

Q: The flooding was the result of a powerful weather system that earlier drenched the U.S. Gulf Coast. Which Gulf Coast state asked for federal aid for a disaster NOT related to the storm?

A. Alabama

B. Mississippi

C. Louisiana

D. Texas

D. The rains bypassed drought-stricken Texas where wildfires have scorched 3.6 million acres since November and were still burning last week. The continuing drought also has caused more than $5 billion in damage to the state's agricultural industry.

Q: Much of the worst flooding was along the Susquehanna River which originates in New York's Otsego Lake and empties into . . .

A. Lake Erie

B. New York Harbor

C. Chesapeake Bay

D. Gulf of Mexico

C. The Susquehanna is the longest river on the American East Coast and drains 27,500 square miles. It supplies half of the Chesapeake Bay's freshwater inflow.