In the wake of two significant earthquakes that struck on Sunday, November 10, southeast of the Pilón municipality in Granma, Cuba has recorded more than 4,000 aftershocks. Enrique Diego Arango Arias, the head of the National Seismological Service at the National Center for Seismological Research (CENAIS), stated that by 9:00 am this Sunday, a total of 4,060 aftershocks had been detected. Among these, around 101 were likely noticeable by residents living near the active zone southeast of Pilón.
Arango Arias noted on his Facebook page that the rest of the Oriente Fault seems to be 'awakening' after a period of dormancy in recent days, which is normal for areas close to Santiago de Cuba. He urged people not to spread false information that could cause unnecessary alarm among the public.
According to the center's report, in the past 24 hours, there have been 80 tremors with magnitudes ranging from 1.5 to 3.1 in the Pilón-Chivirico area of Granma. Additionally, five tremors with magnitudes between 1.0 and 1.8 were recorded in Santiago-Baconao, and two more in Imías, measuring 2.2 and 2.4 in magnitude.
By Saturday, 3,648 aftershocks had been registered, with 97 presumed noticeable, following the initial earthquakes from last Sunday, which reached magnitudes of 6.0 and 6.7. These tremors caused significant damage and injured ten people in the provinces of Granma and Santiago de Cuba.
Economic Impact Looms Over Already Strained Cuban Economy
On Thursday, Cuban authorities indicated that the combined economic impact of hurricanes Oscar and Rafael, along with the earthquakes in the east, is likely to impede any economic growth this year. This was discussed during a session of the National Defense Council, led by the country's leader, Miguel Díaz-Canel.
The earthquakes have reportedly damaged at least 3,752 buildings, with Granma being the most affected province. Luis Rojas Yero, the technical deputy director of the Housing Directorate in Granma, provided details of 513 partial collapses recorded. Among these, 54 were complete collapses, 38 involved total roof failures, and 313 were partial roof collapses.
Pilón municipality reported the highest number of affected residences, totaling 830. It was followed by Campechuela with 759, Bartolomé Masó with 663, Buey Arriba with 445, Media Luna with 337, and Manzanillo with 248.