In the early hours of Monday, a 4.3 magnitude earthquake was felt in Pilón, located in Granma province, and other parts of eastern Cuba. The tremor occurred at 1:52 a.m. local time, with the epicenter situated 34 kilometers southeast of Pilón, as reported by Enrique Diego Arango Arias, Head of the National Seismological Service, on social media.
Arango Arias noted that the quake originated at a depth of 10 kilometers, although an initial report from CENAIS had stated a depth of merely 5 kilometers. As of 2:00 a.m. local time, CENAIS announced in a brief statement that there were no reported damages resulting from the seismic activity.
Locals took to social media to describe their experiences: "It was quite strong here near the epicenter"; "We felt it strongly in Santiago de Cuba city, but it was quick, of short duration"; "We felt it in Bayamo," they recounted. Radio Bayamo broadcast that the quake was noticeable in various locations across Granma and Santiago de Cuba provinces.
Wave of Aftershocks
Two weeks after a foreshock of magnitude 6.0, followed by a 6.7 earthquake, shook Cuba's eastern region, especially Granma province, experts reported a total of 5,792 aftershocks by Sunday. CENAIS, in its daily bulletin, mentioned that out of these, at least 125 aftershocks have been noticeable.
With the powerful quakes' epicenter located 40 km southeast of Pilón, Granma, the local population remains on edge. The seismic activity has caused considerable damage to the educational infrastructure, forcing around 350 children to relocate to a temporary school set up in a military base with the support of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.
Meanwhile, many Pilón residents face a harsh reality, continuing to live in tents amidst fear, uncertainty, and a shortage of basic resources. The government provided tents to accommodate affected families, but the initiative has been criticized for its limited reach and failure to address the needs of other impacted communities.
The United Nations (UN) announced on Friday that it has increased its funding requirement to $78.3 million (75 million euros) for their action plan to tackle the severe damage caused in Cuba by recent hurricanes, high-magnitude earthquakes, and another collapse of the national electrical system.
To date, the earthquakes have resulted in ten injuries and damage to at least 3,752 buildings, as per the official government figures.