Two strong earthquakes recorded off the southern coast of Cuba

Two powerful earthquakes struck southern Cuba this Sunday, US geologists report, while authorities said no tsunami warnings were issued and no deaths or injuries were reported so far.

The United States Geological Survey detected a second, more powerful earthquake, at a magnitude of 6.8 and 14.6 miles (23.5 kilometers) deep, about 25 miles off the coast of Bartolomé Maso, south of Granma province.

It came exactly an hour after the first shock, which according to the USGS had an intensity of 5.9The center of which was about 22 miles from Bartolomeo Maso, about nine miles below the sea.

A neighbor of Palma Soriana in Santiago de Cuba commented on the portal 14ymedia As soon as he felt the shock at around 11 am local time: “I felt the whole house shaking and I went out immediately.”“At the moment we are still outside, without going inside because we are scared,” he said.

An hour later an aftershock of magnitude 6.8 was recorded.

The first earthquake was also felt in Holguín, Guantánamo and Granma, the portal reports.

The second, for its part, was located in the same area, 36 kilometers from the municipality of Pilon, according to a report issued by the National Center for Seismological Research (Cenas).

No damage or injury has been reported yet.

The strong shock rattled the eastern provinces, which have experienced intense rain storms in recent days, and particularly Guantanamo, which was hit hard by the impact of Tropical Storm Oscar three weeks ago, killing eight people. One person was killed and there was significant damage to habitat and agriculture.

Additionally, 5.1 degrees was recorded on October 17 and was felt in Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Granma (East), without any physical damage being reported.

A total of 7,475 earthquakes were recorded in Cuba in 2023, of which 14 were direct.According to the CEN’s annual summary. The intensity ranged from less than 3 to 5.9 on the Richter scale.

The Oriente geological fault, the main area of ​​seismic activity in Cuba, marked the highest number of earthquakes in the Caribbean country last year. About 70% of telluric movements are reported in the Orient Fault, located on the south-eastern coast of the island. In 2018, there were 15 conceivable activities in that area alone.

Cuba is located in a region – extending from the Dominican Republic to Mexico – In which various tectonic fault systems converge with significant seismic activity.

The largest documented earthquake in Cuba occurred at 1:15 pm on February 3, 1932, with a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale. 13 people were killed and a large number were injured, estimated at around 2,000, although exact figures are not known.

This incident is occurring amid a serious humanitarian crisis that the Cuban people are facing.

This weekend the island was still recovering from the total blackout caused by the passage of extremely intense Typhoon Rafael from the west of the country three days earlier. Just 19 days earlier, the National Electric System (SEN) also collapsed due to a fault in a major thermoelectric plant and Left the country in darkness for more than three days.

It is impossible to list the consequences of these multi-day outages: from the paralysis of productive structures to the loss of refrigerated food in stores and homes, from queues at service centers (gas stations) to the suspension of water supply, including to schools. inaction and impact on hospitals, transport and the valuable tourism sector.

However, the drama Cubans are experiencing is not new. The country is stuck in serious crisis for four years. Added to longer daily blackouts Shortage of basic things (food, medicine, fuel)Inflation that has tripled prices, increased dollarization and an unprecedented wave of migration.

The pandemic and the failed policies of the Castro dictatorship have exacerbated structural problems in the Cuban economy.

This desperate situation has prompted dozens of Cubans to demonstrate in the streets against regime officials. But, once again the dictatorship responded with repression.

This weekend the regime confirmed the arbitrary detention of an undetermined number of people, which it described as “”.system glitchWithin the framework of the protests that arose as a result of the widespread blackouts caused by the storm rafal,

The arrests came as electricity was restored to much of the country, and coincided with complaints from human rights organizations about summonses and arrests at police stations. Havana, MayaBake And ciego de avila,

In a statement, the Cuban Prosecutor’s Office indicated that in those areas of the country “Criminal proceedings are being brought for the offenses of assault, public disorder and damage”, without specifying the number of detainees or giving further information about the circumstances of the arrest.

According to the dictatorship, the detainees “will be subject totemporary prison“due to the acts of”Aggression towards officers and inspectorsThere were “injuries and a breakdown,” according to the statement.