Earthquake after hurricane in Cuba

After Hurricane Rafael caused destruction and another large-scale power outage in the west of the island on Wednesday with wind speeds of up to 185 kilometers per hour, two earthquakes shook the southeastern part of the country on Sunday morning local time. After an initial quake measuring 6.8, there was a more severe aftershock measuring 5.8.

According to the Cuban National Seismological Center, the epicenter was about 35 kilometers off the coast of the province of Granma and about 175 kilometers from the city of Santiago de Cuba.

When the second, stronger quake struck, just under half an hour after the first, people ran out of their houses in panic. Initially, however, only landslides, damaged houses and further power outages were reported.

Head of state visits affected regions

Only on Friday had the nationwide power outage caused by Hurricane Rafael been resolved in most regions of Cuba. However, many communities were still without power over the weekend, mainly because power poles had to be re-erected and transformers repaired.

Head of state Miguel Díaz-Canel had visited several regions and districts of the capital Havana that were particularly affected by the hurricane since Wednesday and promised rapid help. On Sunday, Díaz-Canel called on people in the earthquake-hit region via his X-Account to stay outdoors until further notice.

Arrests after protests

Meanwhile, protests are brewing against the permanent power outages. According to government sources, several people are being investigated for bodily harm, disturbing public order and damaging property. The human rights organization Justicia 11J reported more than ten arrests in the town of Guanabacoa in the east of Havana. People had previously participated in peaceful protests.

The power grid had already collapsed in October after the largest of Cuba’s eight coal-fired power plants, which were considered to be in poor condition, failed.

Cuba quake magnitude revised to 6.6, GFZ says

A quake in the Cuban region on Sunday reached a magnitude of 6.6, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported.

The quake occurred at a depth of 10 km, according to the GFZ. A previous quake of magnitude 5.8 had been measured.

The US National Tsunami Warning Centre said no tsunami threat was expected from the quake. (Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Ricardo Figueroa)

🔴 ATENCION: Un doble sismo sacudió #Cuba, con registros de 5.9 y 6.8 en la escala de Richter, causando daños en la isla. 🇨🇺 pic.twitter.com/y6oLXrVIEc

— TAVI (@xTAVIx) November 10, 2024

Two earthquakes shook Cuba and caused serious damage in different parts of the island

The second of the tremors, which reached a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale, shook the eastern provinces that have received intense rainy weather in recent days, and in particular Guantanamo, which was severely affected three weeks ago by the impact of tropical storm Oscar

Two strong earthquakes shook southern Cuba on Sunday morning, according to reports by American geologists, while authorities said that no tsunami warning was issued and there were no reports of deaths or injuries so far.

The United States Geological Survey placed the second, more powerful tremor at a magnitude of 6.8 and at a depth of 14.6 miles (23.5 kilometers), about 25 miles off the coast of Bartolome Maso, in the south of the province of Granma.

It took place just an hour after a first tremor, which according to the USGS reached a magnitude of 5.9, with an epicenter about nine miles under the ocean and 22 miles from Bartolomé Masó.

According to the 14ymedio portal, the first earthquake was also felt in Holguín, Guantánamo and Granma.

The second, meanwhile, was located in the same area 36 kilometers from the municipality of Pilón, according to a report released by the National Center for Seismological Research (Cenais).

This strong tremor shook the eastern provinces that have received intense rainy weather in recent days, and in particular Guantánamo, which was severely affected three weeks ago by the impact of tropical storm Oscar, which left a balance of eight dead and considerable damage to homes and agriculture.

In addition, it has as a precedent the 5.1 degree earthquake recorded on October 17 and felt in Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Granma (east), without reporting material damage.

Cuba recorded a total of 7,475 earthquakes in 2023, of which 14 were perceptible, according to the annual Cenais summary. The magnitudes ranged from less than 3 to 5.9 on the Richter scale.

The earthquakes were triggered on a weekend in which the island was still recovering from the total blackout caused three days ago by the passage of the intense hurricane Rafael through the west of the country. Just 19 days earlier, a breakdown in a key thermoelectric plant also caused the National Electric System (SEN) to collapse and left the country in the dark for more than three days.