If you are interested in earthquakes, then you should be getting earthquake alerts from Nepal. But these warnings are only sent out if the earthquake is felt strongly enough at certain locations. Before you get worried about an earthquake near Nepal, know that most earthquakes in this region are very small (magnitude 2 or less). An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck off the coast of Japan on Thursday morning. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Japan since 2001 and one of several strong earthquakes to strike the country this week. No major damage or deaths were reported but the earthquake did cause a few buildings to collapse in Tokyo. The large number of earthquakes in Japan this week is due to them being close to the active Kamikaze volcano. Volcanic eruptions can trigger earthquakes. After a period of unusually heavy rains, a powerful storm swept across parts of Mexico on Wednesday night, killing at least 24 people and leaving hundreds more homeless. The storm also destroyed dozens of homes and businesses and damaged many more.