Two powerful earthquakes rocked the southern region of eastern Cuba early on Sunday, November 10, 2024.
The United States Geological Survey and the National Center for Seismological Research (Cenais) also documented the tremors.
The first earthquake, which had a Richter scale value of 6.0, struck 35 kilometers from the Granma municipality of Bartolome Maso at approximately 10:50 a.m. At a depth of 10 kilometers beneath the water, a second tremor with a magnitude of 6.7, more powerful than the first one, struck an hour later at 11:49 a.m. People reported feeling the tremors even in the country’s center, indicating that they were felt throughout the eastern zone.
The Granma municipality of Pilon seems to be the most impacted thus far. Residents and municipal officials have shared images of landslides, fallen electrical poles, and damaged and partially collapsed homes and public buildings on social media.
Additionally, Niquero, Media Luna, Campechuela, Providencia, and Santo Domingo have reported damage. Damage was also done to a number of Santiago de Cuba infrastructures.
It is improbable that a tsunami will emerge in the region, according to Enrique Diego Arango Arias, head of the Cenais’ Seismological Service.
Hurricane Rafael, a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, devastated Havana and Artemisa just a few days ago in the western portion of the country. Recovery work is still going on in some locations four days later. In less than a month, Cuba is now going through its second nationwide blackout. Hurricane Oscar, another weather event, made landfall in eastern Cuba on October 21, 2024, resulting in extensive damage and fatalities.
