A magnitude 6 earthquake on the Richter scale this Sunday shook all the provinces of eastern region of Cubaas reported by the National Center for Seismological Research (Cenais).
The strong earthquake was recorded at 10:50 a.m. local time (3:50 p.m. GMT) at 19.75 degrees north latitude and 76.91 degrees west longitude, at a depth of 10 kilometers. Its epicenter was located 48 kilometers southeast of the municipality of Pilón.in the southeastern province of Granma. The Cenais report indicates that in addition to being perceptible in the eastern provinces of Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Las Tunas and Holguín, it was felt in Camagüey and Ciego de Ávila, located in the center-east.
This strong tremor shook the eastern provinces which have received intense torrential rains in recent days and, in particular, Guantánamo, which was seriously affected three weeks ago by the impact of tropical storm Óscar, with a death toll of eight and considerable damage to homes and agriculture.
In additionprecedes the 5.1 degrees recorded on October 17 and that it was felt in Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Granma (east), without reporting material damage. Cuba recorded a total of 7,475 earthquakes in 2023, 14 of which were perceptibleaccording to the Cenais annual report.
Magnitudes ranged from less than 3 to 5.9 on the Richter scale. The Oriente geological fault, Cuba’s main area of seismic activity, has marked the highest number of earthquakes in the Caribbean country over the past year.
About 70% of telluric movements are reported in this Oriente fault, located along the southeast coast of the island. In 2018, in this area alone, 15 movements were perceptible. Cuba is located in a region (ranging from the Dominican Republic to Mexico) where different tectonic fault systems converge with significant seismic activity.
The largest documented earthquake in Cuba occurred on February 3, 1932 at 1:15 a.m., with a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale. It left 13 people dead and a large number injured, estimated at around 2,000, although exact statistics are not known.
