Q70. In which Kerala district did major landslides occur in July 2024?
[RRB Technician – 20 Dec 2024 | 2024]
A. Thrissur
B. Idukki
C. Malappuram
D. Wayanad
Answer: D. Wayanad
Explanation: Catastrophic landslides struck Wayanad, particularly around Mundakkai and Chooralmala, after exceptional monsoon rain. Steep slopes, saturated soils and dense settlements magnified the devastation. The event highlights landslide vulnerability in the Western Ghats beyond the Himalayan region.
Q69. Which country proposed the name Dana for the cyclone that affected India in 2024?
[RRB JE – 18 Dec 2024 | 2024]
A. Maldives
B. United Arab Emirates
C. Oman
D. Saudi Arabia
Answer: D. Saudi Arabia
Explanation: Saudi Arabia supplied the name Dana under the approved North Indian Ocean cyclone naming list. Naming provides a common identifier for weather bulletins and public alerts. The World Meteorological Organization facilitates regional coordination among countries contributing cyclone names.
Q68. Which drought statement is correct?
1. Meteorological drought is defined by effects on water supply.
2. Socioeconomic drought concerns the supply and demand of economic goods.
[OPSC OAS Prelims – 15 Dec 2024 | 2024]
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: B. 2 only
Explanation: Meteorological drought describes a prolonged rainfall deficit. Hydrological drought concerns depleted streams, reservoirs and groundwater; socioeconomic drought arises when water shortage disrupts economic activity and essential goods. Separating these types improves India’s drought monitoring and response.
Q67. Tropical cyclones affecting India originate over which combination of ocean regions?
[SSC Stenographer – 10 Dec 2024 | 2024]
A. Mediterranean Sea, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean
B. Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean
C. Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and Atlantic Ocean
D. Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean
Answer: D. Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean
Explanation: The Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea are parts of the northern Indian Ocean and are important tropical-cyclone basins. Warm sea surfaces and suitable wind patterns allow cyclones to intensify. Mediterranean storms have a different, largely extratropical meteorological origin.
Q66. Which cyclone caused storms, flash floods and landslips in India’s northeastern states during 2024?
[RRB ALP – 25 Nov 2024 | 2024]
A. Remal
B. Yaas
C. Amphan
D. Fani
Answer: A. Remal
Explanation: Cyclone Remal moved inland after affecting the Bay of Bengal coastline and caused severe rain-related impacts in northeastern India. Tropical systems can continue producing landslides and river floods far from landfall, particularly when moist air encounters mountainous terrain.
Q65. What is a principal cause of tsunamis originating in the ocean?
[SSC MTS – 13 Nov 2024 | 2024]
A. Movement of tectonic plates beneath the ocean
B. Increasing ocean acidity
C. Excess dissolved carbon dioxide
D. Accumulated radioactive pollutants
Answer: A. Movement of tectonic plates beneath the ocean
Explanation: Sudden submarine fault displacement can lift or drop the ocean floor and force a huge volume of water to move. This creates long tsunami waves. Routine chemical changes in seawater do not provide the rapid physical displacement needed to generate such waves.
Q64. Which volcanic feature is associated with the most explosive, large-scale eruptions?
[SSC MTS – 12 Nov 2024 | 2024]
A. Caldera
B. Lopolith
C. Dyke
D. Flood-basalt province
Answer: A. Caldera
Explanation: Large caldera-forming eruptions may violently eject ash and gases as magma chambers empty and collapse. Dykes and lopoliths are intrusive structures, while flood basalts are generally associated with widespread effusive lava flows. India’s active Barren Island volcano is not a caldera supereruption.
Q63. Large ocean waves generated by submarine earthquakes or volcanic eruptions are called what?
[SSC MTS – 30 Oct 2024 | 2024]
A. Hurricanes
B. Tsunamis
C. Typhoons
D. Tornadoes
Answer: B. Tsunamis
Explanation: A tsunami is a series of long water waves triggered by sudden displacement of the ocean. In the deep sea waves may be relatively low, but they slow and grow near shore. India experienced destructive tsunami impacts in December 2004.
Q62. Most natural earthquakes occur in which layer of the Earth?
[SSC MTS – 23 Oct 2024 | 2024]
A. Lithosphere
B. Hydrosphere
C. Biosphere
D. Asthenosphere
Answer: A. Lithosphere
Explanation: Earthquakes generally involve sudden rupture of brittle rock within the lithosphere, comprising the crust and rigid upper mantle. The Indian Plate is still interacting with Eurasia, contributing to Himalayan earthquakes. Shaking radiates outward from the focus through seismic waves.
Q61. What is the region on Earth where particular earthquake waves cannot be recorded called?
[SSC MTS – 14 Oct 2024, Shift 2 | 2024]
A. Benthic zone
B. Hypocentre
C. Shadow zone
D. Epicentre
Answer: C. Shadow zone
Explanation: Seismic shadow zones result from the way waves interact with Earth’s internal layers. S-waves cannot pass through the liquid outer core; P-waves are strongly refracted there. Such observations helped establish the layered structure of Earth’s interior.
