Cuba has recorded more than 4,000 aftershocks following the two strong earthquakes that occurred on Sunday, November 10, southeast of the municipality of Pilón, in Granma.
Enrique Diego Arango Arias, head of the national seismological service at the National Center for Seismological Research (CENAIS), reported that by 9:00 AM this Sunday, 4,060 aftershocks had been detected, of which approximately 101 were likely perceptible to the population living near the active area southeast of Pilón.
"The rest of the Oriente fault, which has been inactive in recent days, is beginning to 'wake up,' especially in areas near Santiago de Cuba," the expert clarified on his Facebook page, urging against the dissemination of false information that could alarm the public.
According to the report from the center, in the last 24 hours there were 80 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 1.5 to 3.1 in the Pilón-Chivirico area (Granma), five more with intensities from 1.0 to 1.8 in Santiago-Baconao, and two additional ones in Imías, measuring 2.2 and 2.4.
As of Saturday, 3,648 aftershocks had been recorded (97 of which were presumably perceptible) following the two initial earthquakes last Sunday, which measured 6.0 and 6.7 on the Richter scale, causing significant damage and leaving 10 injured in the provinces of Granma and Santiago de Cuba.
On Thursday, Cuban authorities reported that the total economic impact of hurricanes Oscar and Rafael, as well as the earthquakes in the east, is very likely to affect the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), complicating any prospects for economic growth this year.
According to reports from a session of the National Defense Council, chaired by leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, the earthquakes caused damage to at least 3,752 buildings, primarily in Granma.
Luis Rojas Yero, the technical deputy director of the Housing Office in Granma Province, detailed that there have been 513 partial collapses recorded, of which 54 are total collapses, 38 are complete roof failures, and 313 are partial roof sagging incidents.
The municipality of Pilón has the highest number of affected homes (830), followed by Campechuela (759), Bartolomé Masó (663), Buey Arriba (445), Media Luna (337), and Manzanillo (248).
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