Natural Disasters CommonLit Questions

What is the main idea of this article?

• Natural disasters always happen in the same way and are easy to predict.

• Most people do not understand the dangers of weather disasters.

• Some natural disasters in history have been especially strange and deadly.

• Scientists have learned how to prevent all natural disasters.

How does the author organize the information in the article?

• By comparing disasters to one another

• In chronological order of the disasters

• By grouping disasters by the number of deaths

• By describing each weird disaster in its own section

What does the word *serene* most likely mean in this sentence: "Lake Nyos was a serene, blue lake in the West African country of Cameroon."

• Empty

• Peaceful

• Dangerous

• Huge

What happened after Mount Tambora erupted in 1815?

• It caused a tsunami that hit nearby islands.

• The ash cooled Earth's atmosphere and led to global food shortages.

• It burned forests all across Indonesia.

• The explosion warmed the Earth by half a degree.

Why did people near Lake Nyos suddenly fall unconscious?

• They were hit by rocks from a volcano.

• They were frightened and fainted.

• They were caught in a deadly cloud of carbon dioxide.

• They were asleep when the cloud came through.

What caused the deadly cloud to rise from Lake Nyos?

• The lake froze and released gases.

• A volcano erupted nearby.

• A rockslide triggered the release of gas.

• An earthquake cracked the lake open.

Why does the author describe these natural disasters as *weird*?

• They were only funny or strange to scientists.

• They were rare and had unusual effects.

• They all happened in the same country.

• They were made up in science fiction books.

What evidence from the text shows how powerful the Tunguska explosion was?

• "Birds froze to death and fell out of the sky."

• "It created a cloud so dense that it reflected sunlight."

• "Eighty million trees were instantly flattened."

• "The people there instantly collapsed and died."

How is the Lake Nyos disaster different from the Tunguska event?

• It involved an earthquake instead of a cloud.

• It caused death through poison gas rather than an explosion.

• It happened in Europe rather than Africa.

• It had no effect on the people or animals.

What is a conclusion the author wants readers to draw about natural disasters?

• They are always caused by people.

• They only happen in cold climates.

• They can be strange, sudden, and deadly.

• They are easy to stop with modern science.