The Electric Union (UNE) reported "damage" to electrical infrastructure as a result of the two strong earthquakes that occurred in the eastern part of Cuba on Sunday morning.
The UNE specified that the main electrical disruptions occurred in six municipalities of the Granma province; specifically in Media Luna, Yara, Campechuela, Bartolomé Masó, Buey Arriba, and Pilón, the latter being the area that suffered the most substantial material damage from the earthquakes.
The state entity detailed that a total of 14,360 families have been affected thus far.
The UNE shared images of specific damage caused to the electrical infrastructure in the tourist area of Marea del Portillo, located in the municipality of Pilón.
The main issues reportedly included "burst secondary lines, tripped transformers, poles down from the 33 kV lines, transformers on the ground," among others.
The Electric Union stated that they were already devising "strategies" to respond to all damage reports.
In the comments section, several Cubans claimed that the government has found in natural disasters the perfect excuse to continue allowing power outages in Cuba.
"They're taking too long"; "You all need to stop"; "Unbelievable, the perfect excuse for the blackouts"; "I was waiting for this kind of post"; "You all have gone too far, you no longer know what to come up with to justify cutting the power; respect yourselves and respect the people; God have mercy on us"; "Let's see if Felton goes into a surge, together with the SEN"; "We were few, and Catana gave birth"; "Take advantage now that there's someone to blame"; "Natural phenomena providing excuses for the failed government," were some of the comments from outraged internet users regarding the report of damages that adds to the ongoing blackouts in Cuba.
"But those transformers were loose, right? Because the base beams are intact, it's obvious they were loose," said one person. "They were secured with straps, weren't they?" pointed out two other commentators, suggesting that some transformers may have fallen to the ground due to the tremors.
"Please, let's be serious; we don't want the usual situation where something happens in the East and the entire country's electricity goes out," warned another internet user.
Two earthquakes, one measuring 6.0 and a subsequent one measuring 6.7, were felt on Sunday morning in eastern Cuba.
Although the seismic events caused damage in several areas of Santiago de Cuba, the main impacts were concentrated in the province of Granma.
From several municipalities in Granma, located along the southern coast of the province (Pilón, Campechuela, Media, Niquero), distressing images circulated, showing damage to homes and the fear of the population, who are not accustomed to such strong earthquakes.
By 5:00 p.m. (local time), the National Seismological Service had recorded at least 300 aftershocks of the earthquake that occurred southeast of Pilón, in Granma, of which at least 15 had been noticeable to the public.
Dr. Enrique Diego Arango Arias, head of the National Seismological Service of Cuba at the National Center for Seismological Research (CENAIS), warned on his social media that the situation was quite complicated following the recording of two earthquakes.
An update made this morning revealed that there have been a total of 495 aftershocks from the main earthquake.
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