MENDOCINO COUNTY, CA - A preliminary 2.8 magnitude quake was detected close to Covelo Monday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Researchers are deliberately setting off real (small) earthquakes to understand how to gauge the danger of a fault line before it breaks.

Local emergency agencies say they are monitoring the seismic activity but have not issued any tsunami warnings.

More than 150,000 people have been evacuated across the eastern provinces of the Philippines as Typhoon Kalmaegi, locally named Tino, approaches from the Pacific. Authorities have issued warnings for torrential rains, potentially destructive winds, and storm surges reaching up to three metres (nearly 10 feet).

SONOMA COUNTY, CA - Saturday night, a preliminary 2.3 magnitude quake was detected near The Geysers, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Nearly two dozen earthquakes have struck off the coast of Russia, near the Kamchatka Peninsula, in the last 24 hours, according to the U.S. Geological Survey ( USGS ). The temblors were measured from 4.3 to 6.1 magnitude, the latter considered a strong earthquake that could inflict damage on populated areas.

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif early on Monday, killing at least seven people and injuring about 150, just months after a quake and strong aftershocks killed more than 2,