Ten Days That Shook the World Trivia Quiz

Answer: Antioch

Antioch was founded near the end of the 4th century BCE, and became a thriving centre. It was one of the most important cities in the Eastern Roman Empire. The earthquake of 526 was followed by a fire that caused extensive damage. Thousands lost their lives, many in the collapse of an octagonal cathedral (that had been erected by the emperor Constantius II) during a large Church assembly. Severe earthquakes are also recorded as having occurred on November 29, 528 and October 31, 588. Antioch declined in importance during the Middle Ages, and was eventually deserted because of earthquakes, military conflicts, and the silting-up of its river port.

Answer: China

The epicenter of this Chinese earthquake was in the Wei River Valley in Shaanxi Province, near the cities of Huaxian, Weinan and Huayin. An area covering hundreds of square kilometers was totally destroyed. Many of the people in the area lived in artificial caves in cliffs, most of which collapsed, leading to an estimated loss of life around 830,000.

While not the greatest in magnitude (estimated at 8 on the common magnitude scale), it was the deadliest earthquake in recorded history, and the third most deadly natural disaster behind the 1931 Chinese floods and the 1887 Yellow River Flood. That's gold, silver and bronze for China in the disaster race!

Answer: Mount Etna

Mount Etna is the largest continuously active volcano in Europe, currently 3,329m (10922') high, although its height varies as eruptions remove parts of the summit. Mount Vesuvius (the only active volcano on mainland Europe) and Mount Stromboli are also active volcanoes, and Mount Vulcano, which last erupted in 1890, is considered dormant.

The 1693 eruption produced earthquakes that destroyed at least 45 towns, affected an area of over 5600 square kilometers (220 sq mi), and killed around 60,000 people. The extensive rebuilding required after the earthquake led to the development of a school of architecture referred to as Sicilian Baroque or Earthquake Baroque.

Answer: Lisbon

The earthquake, estimated at magnitude 9, had an epicenter about 200 km (120 mi) southwest of Cape St. Vincent, Portugal. The death toll in Lisbon alone is thought to have been up to 100,000 people. The disaster caused serious setbacks in Portugal's colonial aspirations.

It was the first earthquake to be studied scientifically for its impact over a large area, which is considered to be the first example of modern seismology.

Answer: Honshu

The earthquake, whose epicenter was beneath Izu Oshima Island in Sagami Bay, had a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale, and lasted between 4 and 10 minutes, starting just before noon. Because it occurred at lunchtime, many people were cooking - and the resulting fires added to the damage.

A strong typhoon struck Tokyo Bay at around the same time as the earthquake, and is thought to have possibly been a trigger for the quake. In any case, its high winds added to the chaos, as did the tsunamis that struck the coast and the landslides in nearby hills.

It is estimated that over 100,000 people died, and nearly 2 million were made homeless.

Answer: the San Francisco earthquake

The epicenter of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake was about 2 miles (3 km) offshore, near Mussel Rock. The quake caused tremors along the San Andreas Fault for a distance of 296 miles (477 km), and was felt from Los Angeles north to Oregon. The earthquake and resulting fire are remembered as one of the worst natural disasters in US history, with a death toll estimated to be over 3,000 and with 300,000 out of a population of 400,000 left homeless.

The fire is considered to have been pivotal in making Los Angeles rather than San Francisco develop as the most important urban area in California.

Answer: Peru

The Ancash Earthquake, also called the Great Peruvian Earthquake, had an estimated magnitude of around 8. Its epicenter was about 35 km (20 mi) off the coast of Peru, at a point where the Nazca Plate is being subducted by the South American Plate. There were no reported tsunamis, and the quake lasted a mere 45 seconds.

But this was long enough to destabilize the northern wall of Mount Huascaran, and send a mass of glacial ice and rock about 3,000 feet (910 m) wide and one mile (1.6 km) long sliding down the mountain.

By the time it reached Yugay, about 18 km (11 mi) away from its origin, it is estimated to have contained about 80 million cubic metres of water, mud, rocks and ice. Only 92 people survived, out of a population of 25,000. The Peruvian government has declared the area a national cemetery.

Answer: New Zealand

In terms of lives lost, the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake (which occurred in the early morning of December 26, 2004) was one of the ten most deadly in recorded history, and it produced the deadliest tsunami yet recorded. The actual faulting lasted longer than ever previously observed, nearly 10 minutes. With a magnitude around 9.2, it was the second largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph, and triggered earthquakes as far away as Alaska.

Indonesia, especially the province of Aceh, suffered the most severe damage, but many other Indian Ocean countries were badly hit, including Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Somalia, Myanmar, Maldives, Malaysia, Tanzania, Seychelles, Bangladesh, South Africa, Yemen, Kenya and Madagascar. Over 200,000 people died, and the environmental impact in terms of damage to coastal ecosystems was massive.

Some islands in the Maldives lost their fresh water supply, and have become uninhabitable.

Answer: Indian and Eurasian

The collision of the Eurasian and Indian plates, which produced the Himalayas, continues to create frequent strong earthquakes in the region. The quakes often involve significant upthrust (vertical displacement as opposed to horizontal sliding movement), which increases the damage caused to structures. Iran and China are the two countries which feature most often in a list of earthquakes which have caused significant loss of life.

This one is number 17 on the list, with about 79,000 deaths.

Answer: Haiti

The 2010 Haiti earthquake, whose epicenter was about 25km (16 mi) west of the nation's capital city, Port-au-Prince, had a magnitude of 7.0 on the moment magnitude scale. The original quake occurred at 4:53 pm, and was followed over a two-week period by at least 50 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater.

The Haitian government estimated that 230,000 people died, 300,000 were injured, and 1,000,000 were made homeless due to the destruction of 250,000 residences. The island of Hispaniola, shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, has a long history of seismic activity, and is also frequently struck by cyclones.