A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck off Cuba’s southern coast on Sunday morning, causing structural damage but no reported casualties, as the island nation was still recovering from widespread power outages caused by Cyclone Rafael.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck at 11:49 local time at a depth of 23.5 kilometres, with its epicentre 40 kilometres off the coast of Bartolome Maso in the southeastern Granma province, about 800 kilometres from Havana.
It was preceded by a magnitude 5.9 tremor in the same area an hour earlier.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on X that communication with party officials in Santiago de Cuba and Granma provinces confirmed landslides, damage to homes and power infrastructure.
“There are houses with cracked walls, others where walls collapsed, and some where roofs have fallen in”, Karen Rodriguez, a 28-year-old hairdresser from Caney de las Mercedes village, told AFP by telephone.
Cuba has been shaken by two powerful earthquakes an hour apart with magnitudes 5.9 & 6.8.
— Zimbo_Factual😎 (@fracta70911) November 10, 2024
It was felt throughout the Caribbean island nation.
"People quickly took to the streets because the ground moved very strongly." Said one resident.
No deaths had been immediately reported. pic.twitter.com/TWsMptOHyJ
The earthquakes were felt across eastern and some central provinces. In Bayamo, the provincial capital of Granma with 140,000 residents, witnesses reported power poles swaying and residents fleeing their homes during the approximately 20-second tremor.
The seismic activity comes as Cuba is still grappling with the aftermath of Category 3 Hurricane Rafael, which caused a two-day nationwide blackout last Wednesday.
While 85% of households in Havana have had power restored, the western provinces of Artemisa and Pinar del Rio remain largely without electricity.
This latest natural disaster follows a previous blackout that left most of Cuba’s 10 million residents without power for four days three weeks ago, when Category 1 Hurricane Oscar struck the eastern tip of the island, killing eight people.
The eastern region of Cuba frequently experiences earthquakes due to its location at the intersection of the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates.
Last month, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake was recorded in Santiago de Cuba without causing damage.
(information from amna.gr)
