What natural disaster can be triggered by the movement of tectonic plates?

The movement of tectonic plates is primarily responsible for the occurrence of earthquakes. When tectonic plates shift, they can cause stress to accumulate along faults in the Earth's crust. When this stress exceeds the friction holding the rocks together, it results in a sudden release of energy, generating seismic waves and leading to an earthquake. This natural phenomenon can occur at various plate boundaries, including convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries, where plates either collide, pull apart, or slide past one another.

In contrast, flooding, tornadoes, and droughts are phenomena associated with weather patterns, hydrological changes, or atmospheric conditions rather than geological activity related to tectonic plate movements. Flooding typically results from excessive rainfall or melting snow, tornadoes are severe weather events that develop in thunderstorms, and droughts are prolonged periods of abnormally low rainfall. Thus, while these other disasters are significant natural events, they are not directly linked to the tectonic processes that trigger earthquakes.