Match List - I with List - II and select the correct answer using the code given below : List - I (Natural Disaster) : 1. Flood 2. Earthquake 3. Drought 4. Tsunami; List - II (Affected Area/Region) : i. Himalayan Zone ii. Plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar iii. West and Central India Zone iv. Southern Coastal area of India Codes :
- (a)1-ii, 2-i, 3-iii, 4-iv
- (b)1-i, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-iv
- (c)1-iv, 2-i, 3-ii, 4-iii
- (d)1-iii, 2-i, 3-ii, 4-iv
Correct — A (1-ii, 2-i, 3-iii, 4-iv). Floods are most recurrent in the low-lying Ganga plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, fed by the heavy monsoon runoff of Himalayan rivers (1-ii). Great earthquakes concentrate along the seismically active Himalayan zone, where plate collision places it in Seismic Zones IV–V (2-i). Chronic drought afflicts the semi-arid west and central India belt — parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra (3-iii). Tsunamis strike the southern coastal areas, as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami did on the Tamil Nadu coast and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (4-iv). Every pair fits, giving option A.
- (b)1-i, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-iv — Swaps flood and earthquake: it places flood in the Himalayan zone and earthquake in the UP–Bihar plains, whereas the great quakes strike the Himalaya and the worst floods hit the plains.
- (c)1-iv, 2-i, 3-ii, 4-iii — Misplaces flood to the southern coast, drought to the plains and tsunami to west/central India — three wrong pairings.
- (d)1-iii, 2-i, 3-ii, 4-iv — Gets earthquake–Himalaya and tsunami–coast right, but wrongly ties flood to west/central India and drought to the UP–Bihar plains.
Each natural hazard maps to the physiography that produces it. Earthquakes → the young, folded Himalaya (an active plate boundary, Seismic Zones IV and V); floods → the low-gradient alluvial Ganga plains fed by perennial Himalayan rivers; droughts → the rain-shadow/semi-arid belt of west and central India; tsunamis → open coasts facing seismic ocean sources (the Bay of Bengal / Indian Ocean).
Anchor the two obvious pairs first — earthquake to the Himalaya and tsunami to the southern coast — which already knocks out the wrong options; then flood to the plains and drought to west/central India settle the rest. Only option A keeps all four consistent.
- Earthquakes: the Himalayan belt is India's most seismically active region (Seismic Zones IV–V)
- Floods: the Ganga plains of UP and Bihar are the most flood-prone (Kosi, Ghaghara and other rivers)
- Droughts: the semi-arid west and central India belt (Rajasthan, Gujarat, MP, Marathwada in Maharashtra)
- Tsunami: the southern coast — the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami struck Tamil Nadu and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Option A pairs each hazard with the physiography that causes it.
- Interchanging flood (plains) and earthquake (mountains) regions
- Placing tsunami anywhere but the open southern coast
MPPSC and UPSC give match-the-hazard-to-the-region lists, or ask which zone is most prone to a given disaster.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which region of India is the most earthquake-prone, lying in Seismic Zones IV and V?
- (a)The Deccan plateau
- (b)The Himalayan belt
- (c)The Thar desert
- (d)The Coromandel coast
Answer(b) The Himalayan belt — an active plate-collision boundary in Seismic Zones IV–V.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The December 2004 tsunami that struck India's coast originated from an earthquake in the
- (a)Arabian Sea
- (b)Bay of Bengal off Sumatra (Indian Ocean)
- (c)Mediterranean Sea
- (d)South China Sea
Answer(b) Bay of Bengal off Sumatra — the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.