Energy News
SHAKE AND BLOW
After hurricanes, two earthquakes jolt crisis-hit Cuba
After hurricanes, two earthquakes jolt crisis-hit Cuba
by AFP Staff Writers
Havana (AFP) Nov 10, 2024

Two powerful earthquakes rocked southern Cuba in quick succession on Sunday, US geologists said, just days after the island was struck by a hurricane that knocked out power nationwide.

The quakes cracked walls and damaged homes, but did not appear to have caused any deaths, according to preliminary reports.

They left many residents running into the streets and badly shaken so soon after the passage of Hurricane Rafael, a category 3 storm, which struck the island last Wednesday.

"It's the last thing we needed," Dalia Rodriguez, a housewife from the town of Bayama in southern Cuba, told AFP, adding that a wall of her house had been damaged.

The US Geological Survey measured the second, more powerful tremor on Sunday at a magnitude of 6.8 and 14.6 miles (23.5 kilometers) deep, some 25 miles off the coast of Bartolome Maso, in southern Granma province.

It came just an hour after a first tremor, which the USGS put at a magnitude of 5.9.

The quakes are the latest events in a cycle of emergencies for the Communist-run island following two hurricanes and two major blackouts in the last three weeks.

The island suffered a nation-wide blackout on October 18 when its biggest power plant failed and it was then hit by Hurricane Oscar two days later.

The effects of last week's Hurricane Rafael have sparked rare protests, with an unspecified number of people arrested, according to authorities.

Cuba has been suffering hours-long power cuts for months and is in the throes of its worst economic crisis since the breakup of key ally the Soviet Union in the early 1990s -- marked by soaring inflation and shortages of basic goods.

- 'People got scared' -

The state-run newspaper Granma said no deaths had been immediately reported from Sunday's quakes, but that they had been felt throughout eastern and central provinces of the Caribbean island nation.

"Here people quickly took to the streets because the ground moved very strongly," Andres Perez, a 65-year-old retiree who lives in downtown Santiago de Cuba, told AFP via telephone of the first quake.

"It felt very strong, really, my wife is a bundle of nerves," he added.

"There are houses with cracked walls, others had walls falling down and some had their roofs collapsed," Karen Rodriguez, a 28-year-old hairdresser, told AFP from Caney de las Mercedes, a small town in Bartolome Maso.

Other residents in Bayamo, a city of some 140,000 people, described street poles swaying.

"People got scared, everyone came running out of the houses very scared," 24-year-old welder Livan Chavez told AFP.

The US tsunami warning system said no tsunami warning had been issued.

Hurricane Rafael left residents in Cuba without power for two days.

With concerns of instability on the rise, President Miguel Diaz-Canel has warned that his government will not tolerate attempts to "disturb public order."

Local prosecutors said Saturday that an unspecified number of people had been arrested after demonstrations in the wake of Hurricane Rafael.

Around 85 percent of residents of the capital had had their power restored on Sunday, according to the government, while the two worst-hit provinces in the west, Artemisa and Pinar del Rio, remain in the dark.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SHAKE AND BLOW
Strong quake hits off US West Coast: USGS
Los Angeles, United States (AFP) Oct 30, 2024
A strong earthquake hit off the West Coast of the United States on Wednesday, geologists said, but no tsunami alert was issued. The 6.0 magnitude quake was located on a fault line underneath the Pacific Ocean, 173 miles (279 kilometers) from the city of Bandon in the state of Oregon, the US Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of any damage, and computer modeling by the USGS showed "there are likely to be no affected structures in this region." Seismologists put the depth ... read more

SHAKE AND BLOW
The refrigerator as an indicator of societal progress

China passes energy law to 'promote carbon neutrality'

Brazil raises target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions

France, Barbados, Kenya urge global levies to tackle climate change

SHAKE AND BLOW
NASA opens Power Systems essay contest for K12 students

Silk Thread Innovation Powers Smart Textile Technology

Direct Observation of Space Charge Layers Inside Fuel Cell Electrolytes

In search of high-performance materials for fusion reactors

SHAKE AND BLOW
Sweden blocks 13 offshore wind farms over defence concerns

Sweden's defence concerned by planned offshore wind power

On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument

Renewables revolt in Sardinia, Italy's coal-fired island

SHAKE AND BLOW
Investigating limitations in new materials for perovskite solar cells

High renewable energy penetration reduces blackout impact

KAIST researchers improve hybrid perovskite solar cells with enhanced infrared capture

Hydrogels utilize sunlight for sustainable hydrogen production

SHAKE AND BLOW
Rwanda counting on Russia to train nuclear power specialists

Building the materials for the next generation of nuclear reactor

Framatome opens new Italian offices to bolster European nuclear energy growth

Small modular nuclear reactors may drive US energy and emissions progress

SHAKE AND BLOW
Waste heat from London sewers eyed to warm UK parliament

Bio-based fibers may have greater environmental impact than traditional plastics

Cobalt copper tandem catalysts transform CO2 into renewable ethanol

Sacred cow: coal-hungry India eyes bioenergy to cut carbon

SHAKE AND BLOW
Harnessing oil and gas windfall profits for climate funding

Researchers advance hydrogen jet engine design for sustainable aviation

U.S. secures 200 million barrels of oil for strategic reserve

Venezuela signs defense, energy deals with Russia; Greek tanker crippled by Huthi rebels starts oil transfer

SHAKE AND BLOW
UK's Prince William awards climate prizes in S.Africa

Afghanistan says to attend UN climate talks, first since Taliban takeover

Record drought in Amazon impacts 420,000 children: UNICEF

COP29 action on health 'a matter of life and death': WHO

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.