Earthquake and tsunami kill thousands in Japan

Q: Japan's strongest recorded earthquake triggered a tsunami that washed away towns, left thousands of people dead and missing, and caused the greatest nuclear crisis in decades. Where is Japan?

Circle the area on this map


Q: How much stronger was Japan's 9.0-magnitude earthquake than the 6.3-magnitude tremor last month that devastated Christchurch, New Zealand?

A. 30 percent

B. 26 times

C. 260 times

D. About 8,000 times

Q: Most of the deaths and damage in Japan were caused by tsunami waves from the Pacific Ocean, where the earthquake was centered. A 2004 tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in 14 countries was caused by an earthquake in the . . .

A. Atlantic Ocean

B. Indian Ocean

C. Pacific Ocean

D. Caribbean Sea

Q: Japan, New Zealand and Indonesia all lie in an area where large numbers of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. What is this zone called?

A. Pacific Ring of Fire

B. Great Pacific Fault

C. Tectonic Terror

D. Pacific Ridge

Q: The Japan tsunami severely damaged nuclear reactors, causing the worst nuclear power crisis since the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl plant in . . .

A. Belarus

B. Russia

C. Ukraine

D. Pennsylvania


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