Related videos:
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake shook western Cuba this Monday at 2:00 PM local time, causing widespread alarm among the residents of Havana and other western provinces of the country.
According to data from the National Center for Seismological Research (CENAIS), the epicenter was located 142 kilometers northwest of Minas de Matahambre, in Pinar del Río, at a depth of 20 kilometers, in waters off the northwestern tip of the Gulf of Mexico.
Preliminary information released by journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso initially reported the magnitude as 6.5 on the Richter scale and the epicenter as 100 kilometers northwest of Mantua; CENAIS later adjusted both parameters.
The tremor was felt in dozens of neighborhoods in Havana: Old Havana, Centro Havana, Vedado, Nuevo Vedado, Playa, Luyano, Guanabacoa, Lawton, Alamar, Santos Suárez, El Cotorro, Regla, Cerro, and Boyeros, among others.
It was also felt in Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Mayabeque, Mariel, Bahía Honda, Consolación del Sur, Güines, Cabañas, and the Isle of Youth, and even users from Cancun, Mexico, and Miami, Florida, reported feeling it.
Many people in Havana were caught off guard during their afternoon nap and described a perplexing experience: beds, armchairs, and tables moving seemingly without explanation.
I felt it, I thought the building was going to collapse, a user from Havana wrote in the comments on Facebook from Cibercuba. “The bed was shaking... Nuevo Vedado, 8th floor,” recounted another.
"I was lying down and felt it in my neck, as if a muscle was trembling. I had no idea. It lasted seconds. I live in Playa," recounted a resident. "I felt it and ran barefoot down with my sleeping child," wrote another Havana resident.
Residents of high floors reported a more intense sensation, and several users warned about the possibility of aftershocks: «Stay calm as aftershocks are coming; stay outside the building».
The event did not leave indifferent those who already live under the pressure of the structural crisis in Havana, where the deterioration of the housing stock is critical in Centro Habana and Habana Vieja.
Now the buildings in Centro Habana and Habana Vieja are really starting to fall, wrote a user, while another summed up the collective mood: "This was the last straw: without power, without water, without food, without life, and now there's an earthquake."
As of the time of publication, authorities have not reported any material damage or casualties, and the risk of a tsunami has been ruled out.
This is the second major earthquake in Cuba in 2026, following the magnitude 6.0 earthquake that struck the eastern part of the island on March 17, triggering a seismic crisis with over 800 aftershocks and damage to homes in that region.
The western part of Cuba has historically recorded less seismic activity than the eastern region, but the most recent comparable event was a 6.0 magnitude earthquake recorded in April 2020 with its epicenter southwest of Sandino, Pinar del Río, which caused no damage.
In June 2021, a tremor measuring 5.1 in magnitude in Artemisa forced the evacuation of the Comandante Pinares Hospital in San Cristóbal and caused minor cracks and structural damage.
Filed under: