Q 01/05

What killed most of the people who died in Mount Pinatubo's 1991 eruption, despite mass evacuations?

A) Lava flows

B) Toxic gas clouds

C) Collapsing roofs

D) Falling boulders

Answer · why

C) Collapsing roofs

Collapsing roofs caused most of the deaths, because ash soaked by heavy rain grew far too heavy for buildings to bear. Lava played no part.

Q 02/05

Which natural disaster struck on the same day as Mount Pinatubo's climactic eruption in June 1991?

A) A typhoon

B) A tsunami

C) A tornado

D) A wildfire

Answer · why

A) A typhoon

A typhoon named Yunya struck that same day, turning the falling ash into a heavy rain of mud, while its winds flung ash in every direction.

Q 03/05

What happened to average global temperatures in the two years after Mount Pinatubo's 1991 eruption?

A) They climbed about 0.5 °C

B) They dropped about 5 °C

C) They stayed the same

D) They dropped about 0.5 °C

Answer · why

D) They dropped about 0.5 °C

They dropped about 0.5 °C, because a haze high in the atmosphere bounced sunlight back into space. The chill lasted from 1991 through 1993.

Q 04/05

How long had Mount Pinatubo been dormant before it reawakened with steam blasts in April 1991?

A) About 50 years

B) About 500 years

C) About 5,000 years

D) About 50,000 years

Answer · why

B) About 500 years

About 500 years of quiet had let lush vegetation hide the volcano so well that most people living nearby knew nothing of its violent past.

Q 05/05

Which US Air Force site, 14 km east of Mount Pinatubo's summit, was abandoned after the eruption?

A) Clark Air Base

B) Wallace Air Station

C) Kadena Air Base

D) Osan Air Base

Answer · why

A) Clark Air Base

Clark Air Base was handed back to the Philippines in November 1991, after ash wrecked its buildings and mudflows swept across its grounds. It later be...