Monitoring in the Santiago-Baconao area due to more than 600 earthquakes smaller than 3.5 since the recent earthquake.

The eastern area of Santiago-Baconao remains under surveillance following the 4.1 magnitude earthquake on September 7, as although the released energy is not high, seismic activity has been constant.

The head of the National Seismological Service of Cuba, from the National Center for Seismological Research (CENAIS), Enrique Diego Arango Arias, reported this Sunday on Facebook that they have recorded about 610 earthquakes, all with magnitudes below 3.5.

According to Arango, this situation requires close monitoring because seismic activity "has remained constant."

The head of the National Seismological Service of Cuba recently gave an interview to Cuban television in which he reported that the earthquake registered on September 7, which was felt in various parts of the city of Santiago de Cuba and several nearby towns, "had a series of aftershocks, an energy release that is a bit atypical because aftershocks are still being recorded."

"This has drawn the attention of the population in many cases," pointed out the expert, although he maintained that "it is normal behavior after a main event of 4.1."

He noted that the group of aftershocks with magnitudes has not exceeded 2.9, therefore, “none of these events have been noticeable.”

Arango emphasized that there is no need to panic, stating that "in the event of a significant anomaly being registered that could serve to warn the population in case of an alert, the population would be informed immediately, but at this moment it is not necessary to create a situation of alarm."

However, the expert pointed out that Santiago de Cuba is located in a seismic zone, which is why we must always be alert and prepared to take measures.

"We must always be vigilant, work on vulnerability issues, reduce vulnerability, and not neglect the preparation of the population, the preparation of organizations, and institutions to ensure they take into account the measures established by civil defense," he emphasized.

"But at this moment, it is just about reviewing the measures and being attentive to any behavior," he emphasized.

In a recent publication, Arango explained that the perceptible earthquake reported on September 7 does not protect the population from a major earthquake.

The expert clarified that: "The magnitude of an earthquake is measured by the energy that is released, using logarithmic scales."

In that sense, he detailed: “A 3.0 magnitude earthquake is 32 times smaller than a 4.0, it is 1,000 times smaller than a 5, it is 31,000 times smaller than a 6, and so on.”

To illustrate this principle, Arango shared a graph that shows how the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that occurred on January 28, 2020, eclipses all the earthquakes recorded between 2010 and 2024 in the Oriente fault, and concluded: "Its energy is incomparably greater than the rest."

So far in 2024, 11 perceptible earthquakes have been recorded in Cuba, including the one reported on September 7.

In 2023, a total of 14 perceptible earthquakes were recorded in Cuba, most of which were located along the Oriente fault, the main seismic activity zone in the country and a boundary of tectonic plates to the south of the eastern region.