6.8 magnitude earthquake strikes off coast of eastern Cuba
By Michael Rios, CNN
(CNN) — A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Cuba on Sunday, causing material damage in several regions as the island continues to recover from widespread blackouts and the impact of two hurricanes over the past few weeks.
The earthquake was reported about 39 km (24 miles) south of Bartolomé Masó before noon local time, about an hour after a 5.9 magnitude quake rocked the area, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.
“There have been landslides, damage to homes and power lines,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said, adding that authorities are evaluating the situation to start recovery efforts.
Pictures of Granma Province published by the state-run outlet Cubadebate showed buildings with cracks on the walls and piles of debris littering the ground.
The municipality of Pilón has suffered “a lot of damage,” according to Enrique Diego Arango Arias, head of the National Seismological Service of Cuba.
“I can’t answer messages or phone calls. I haven’t been able to post. The situation is quite complicated,” he said on Facebook.
Residents in eastern Cuba told Reuters that the tremor was as powerful as any they’ve felt before.
“Strong as ever. In other occasions, we’ve felt the earthquake but not as strong as now,” Griselda Fernandez said.
The quake was also felt in the eastern provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Holguin and Guantánamo, where the deadly Hurricane Oscar struck last month.
Another storm, Rafael, slammed into western Cuba on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane, knocking out power across the island, in the latest major blackout in recent weeks.
Sunday’s earthquake did not produce a significant tsunami threat, according to the US National Tsunami Warning Center, but it warned that there’s “a very small possibility of tsunami waves along coasts located nearest the epicenter.”
The quake was apparently not felt in the capital Havana, but shockwaves did reach southern Florida, with footage on social media showing swaying ceiling lights from a tower in Miami.
The-CNN-Wire
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CNN’s Patrick Oppmann and Elisa Raffa contributed to this report.
