The tremors that shook Pilón, in the province of Granma, on November 10, forever changed the life of Yaniseli Ramírez Tejeda, a young mother of 25.
“It was a loud bang,” Ramírez recounted to the state-run newspaper La Demajagua, remembering how the ground began to shake while he was cooking in the yard with his two-year-old child.
Without a second thought, this mother ran outside with the child, where her husband was with the 10-month-old baby.
In that moment, her neighbor, in the midst of panic, threw her other daughter over the fence to save her.
After the first tremor, Ramírez went in to change his little girl's clothes, but the second earthquake caught her off guard before she could leave.
The ceiling and the interior walls collapsed on her, striking her right arm and hip.
Her daughter Samira, who is four years old, instinctively embraced her feet, shielding herself from the impact, she reported to La Demajagua.
Ten people were injured and at least 3,752 buildings were damaged as a result of the 6 and 6.7 magnitude earthquakes that shook southeastern Cuba.
The rumors that a tsunami could hit the area sparked panic among the neighbors, who desperately ran toward the nearest hill.
Ramírez recalls how her husband ran with the children in his arms, leaving behind the rubble and fear, in search of shelter.
“And my husband, he ran faster than Juan Torena with the kids in tow, up the hill,” she recounted.
The El Bon neighborhood was left in ruins, with houses, buildings, schools, and the dock completely destroyed.
"Now we are on alert for every tremor, and we cannot take the risk for our children. Whenever they feel them, the girl cries and says she is scared," the young mother pointed out.
When her maternity leave ends, Ramírez will return to her job as a laundry assistant at the Félix Lugones Hospital, located in the southernmost municipality of Granma, because, as she optimistically states: "For my children, for the family, we have to start over."
However, the population in eastern Cuba, especially in Granma, continues to feel fear following thousands of aftershocks that occurred after the 6.7 magnitude earthquake registered on November 10th.
This Tuesday, the recording of a 4.2 magnitude earthquake, felt in several municipalities of the provinces of Granma and Santiago de Cuba, caused panic once again.
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