Raul Castro Visits Santiago de Cuba Due to Seismic Situation
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- Environment
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- Santiago de Cuba
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- Personalities
- 03 / 22 / 2010
Last Saturday, the city experienced a 5.5-degree on the Richter scale earthquake, which was felt throughout all eastern Cuba and was followed by several aftershocks of lesser magnitude, three of those ranging between three and 4.8 degrees.
At the meeting, Raul received information from Doctor Vladimir Toirat Moreno, director of the National Earthquake Research Center, on the increased activity in the seismic generating areas close to Cuba, mainly around the south-eastern strip.
The specialist explained that this increased activity has occurred after last January 12, when a powerful earthquake struck neighboring Haiti.
He said that the quake on Saturday was located 62 kilometers southeast of Santiago de Cuba city, and it was originated in the same place where a similar event took place in 1947 with an intensity of 6.7 degrees.
He also referred to the status and performance of the seismic network made up of stations located in Soroa, Manicaragua, Cascorro, Holguín, Moa, Las Mercedes, Maisí and Río Carpintero.
“You have to anticipate everything that may be expected, given that the first step is always the protection of our population,” Raul reiterated when addressing the Council, headed by its president Lazaro Exposito Canto.
Lt. Col. Gustavo Alvarez Matos, head of the Civil Defense entity in this eastern Cuban province, announced that several public health, education, culture and trade and gastronomy facilities, among others, suffered cracks and fissures in its structures.
The same happened in 316 homes and 19 buildings in the municipalities of Santiago de Cuba, Palma Soriano, Contramaestre, Mella, Songo La Maya, Segundo Frente and Guamá.
Raul visited the Laboratory of Geodynamics and the seismology station, located in Rio Carpintero in the foothills of the Gran Piedra Mountain, accompanied by Army Corps General Ramón Espinosa Martín, Revolutionary Armed Forces Deputy Minister.
Accompanying the Cuban president were General Ramon Pardo Guerra, Chief of the National Civil Defense, and Rolando Yero, president of the Provincial Parliament.
In his exchanges with the local leaders during the tour around the province and the seismology centers, Raul emphasized that “we must have it all planned, because what we don’t foresee now, we won’t be able to do it afterwards.”
He insisted that they should urge people to remain calm and comply with the guidelines issued by the authorities in every territory.
Source. ACN
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