Tiny tremors and temblors recently discovered in fault zones from California to Japan are generated by slow-moving earthquakes that may foreshadow catastrophic seismic events, according to scientists at Stanford University and the University of Tokyo.

Seismologists at Washington University in St. Louis and their colleagues in Australia, Japan and Tonga have determined why a large earthquake in Tonga did not cause a large tsunami. A tsunami warning was issued around the Pacific Rim following the magnitude 8.0 earthquake on May 3, 2006, but the resulting tsunami was very minor and caused no damage.

Reports from Iran say at least 35 people have been injured in an earthquake in the town of Doroud, in the western Lorestan Province.

A powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra killing at least 70 people and destroying hundreds of buildings. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in Jakarta has more.

Background noise from the earth can provide a wealth of information about the earth's crust, which for example can then be used when searching for new oil fields. Researchers from TU Delft have tested this relatively new discovery in a desert in the Middle East. The seismic noise measurements have shown that the theory also works in practice. An article by PhD candidate Deyan Draganov about this research subject has been published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Deep, non-volcanic low-frequency tremors, which consist of swarms of intermittent weak signals at relatively low frequencies (1 to 8 hertz) and last from days to a few weeks once activity begins, were first discovered along Japan's Nankai trough, a location known to generate great earthquakes.

Soil bacteria could be used to help steady buildings against earthquakes, according to researchers at UC Davis. The microbes can literally convert loose, sandy soil into rock.

A magnitude-5.7 quake shook eastern Congo's Lake Albert region on Monday near the Uganda border, a preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey said, but there were no reports of deaths or injuries.

When the next big earthquake hits a region like San Francisco, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) grantee Kristy Tiampo wants to ensure that communities will not only be able to evacuate, but also rebuild.