Eastern Cuba rocked by earthquake of magnitude 6.8

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked eastern Cuba on Sunday, according to the US Geological Survey, shaking buildings in Santiago de Cuba, the island’s second-largest city, and the surrounding countryside.

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The earthquake struck Cuba’s southeastern coast in Granma province near the municipality of Bartolome Maso, the home of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s headquarters during the Cuban Revolution.

Damage to a house after earthquakes in Santiago de Cuba on Sunday. Photo: Cuba’s Meteorological Institute / AFP
Damage to a house after earthquakes in Santiago de Cuba on Sunday. Photo: Cuba’s Meteorological Institute / AFP

Reuters spoke to several residents in the area who reported the earthquake felt as strong as any in their lifetimes. Homes and buildings shook violently, they said, and dishes rattled off shelves. Some damage was reported in Pilon, near the earthquake’s epicentre.

Many of the region’s homes and buildings are older and vulnerable.

The 6.8 earthquake was at a depth of 14km (8.7 miles), USGS said. About an hour earlier, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 was measured nearby, according to the US agency.

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The US National Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no tsunami threat expected as a result of these earthquakes.

  

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