After the powerful earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, another quake struck on May 12, this time of magnitude 7.3. The earthquake spread panic in the area, as buildings that were almost destroyed by the first quake were now brought down. This quake is believed to be an aftershock because the hypocentre occurred along the same fault as the previous one. However, the largest earthquake last month occurred last Sunday in Japan, which lies at the junction of four tectonic plates. The 7.8-magnitude quake took place very deep in the Earth’s crust (around 675 km) so no tsunami alert was issued. Although the the earthquake was powerful and buildings in Tokyo swayed for about a minute, very little damage was caused thanks to the country’s strict building codes. Two small earthquakes were recorded in the south and west of Malta and another one closer to Sicily. If readers experience any earthquake-related shaking, they are invited to fill an online questionnaire on http://seismic.research.um.edu.mt.