6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Cuba after hurricanes and blackouts

HAVANA -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 shook eastbound Cuba connected Sunday, aft weeks of hurricanes and blackouts that person near galore connected the land reeling.

The epicenter of the quake was located astir 25 miles (40 kilometers) southbound of Bartolome Maso, Cuba, according to a study by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Rumbling was felt crossed the eastbound agelong of Cuba, including successful bigger cities similar Santiago de Cuba, arsenic good arsenic Holguin and. Guantanamo. Local media successful Jamaica besides reported that the land felt the tremors.

There were nary contiguous reports of large harm oregon injuries successful Cuba.

Debris from a gathering damaged by the transition of Hurricane Rafael covers the thoroughfare successful Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)

AP Photo/Ariel Ley

Residents successful Santiago, Cuba's second-largest city, were near shaken connected Sunday. Yolanda Tabío, 76, said that radical successful the metropolis flocked to the streets and were inactive nervously sitting successful their doorways. She said that she felt astatine slightest 2 aftershocks pursuing the quake, but that among friends and household she hadn't heard of immoderate damages.

"You had to spot however everything was moving, the walls, everything," she told The Associated Press.

Others reported proceeding screams, adding that the quake was beardown and stretched on. On societal media, residents successful the tiny municipality of Pilon reported insignificant damage, posting photos of crumbling roofs and cracks connected gathering walls, not uncommon successful Cuba wherever galore structures are older and successful request of repair.

The earthquake comes during different pugnacious agelong for Cuba.

On Wednesday, Category 3 Hurricane Rafael ripped done occidental Cuba, with beardown winds knocking retired powerfulness island-wide, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing evacuations of hundreds of thousands of people. Days after, overmuch of the land was inactive struggling without power.

Weeks earlier successful October, the land was besides deed by a one-two punch. First, it was deed by island-wide blackouts stretching connected for days, a merchandise of the island's vigor crisis. Shortly after, it was slapped by a almighty hurricane that struck the eastbound portion of the land and killed astatine slightest six people.

The blackouts and wider discontent among galore struggling to get by has stoked tiny protests crossed the island.