An earthquake alarm started sounding after 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday on phones and tablets in Cuba, causing moments of panic among people who interpreted the alert as a warning of an imminent earthquake.
However, Dr. Enrique Diego Arango Arias, head of the National Seismological Service of Cuba at the National Center for Seismological Research (CENAIS), stated that it was a false alarm.
False earthquake alarm in Cuba transmitted via phones, it was noted on its Facebook profile, amidst the confusion caused by the alert received on numerous devices.
In response to the panic caused by the seismic alarm, the official journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso tried to reassure people and wrote on his WhatsApp channel: «There was no earthquake in Cuba. We will provide further details shortly».
For its part, the official newspaper Girón claimed that the information regarding the occurrence of an earthquake was false and noted that the confirmation was provided by Mario Sabines Lorenzo, the first secretary of the Communist Party in Matanzas, after establishing contact with the National Civil Defense General Staff.
No earthquake has been detected in the province, reported the media.
Reports received from CiberCuba confirm that the alert was activated in several provinces of Cuba, where users reacted quickly to the sound emitted by their devices.
People rushed to the streets. In Santiago, we remember the occurrence of several earthquakes,” recounted a person from the city of Santiago de Cuba after receiving the alarm.
Another resident recounted that she took her family and immediately fled a building in the José Martí urban district. The group headed towards a public space away from the structures out of fear that a seismic movement could occur.
In the center of Camagüey, everyone is in the streets, said a follower of our site to CiberCuba, who confirmed that the alarm went off on the phones of his sister, his brother-in-law, his mother, and his father-in-law.
Reports published on social media show that the alert reached numerous areas of the country. Users mentioned receiving it as well in Mayabeque, Granma, Holguín, Matanzas, Havana, Ciego de Ávila, and Las Tunas, among other locations, although not all phones reacted in the same way.
In Campechuela, Granma, Jenny Yero reported that “people are very worried” and that several individuals took to the streets not knowing if the warning was official.
Norge Luis Fernández Ardevol confirmed a similar reaction in that municipality: "We also went outside to open spaces".
Reports from Holguín came in from San Germán, Banes, Antilla, and Moa. Karel Infante assured that in San Germán, "an earthquake alert was sent to all mobile phones," while other users confirmed having received the notification at various locations in the province.
There were also reports from Matanzas, Ciego de Ávila, and Havana. A resident of Micro Norte in Morón stated that “almost all the neighbors received it,” while users in Centro Habana and Guanabacoa indicated that the alarm also sounded on their devices.
In contrast, two people from El Vedado and another in El Cerro claimed that they did not receive any alert.
The lack of immediate information fueled uncertainty. "If it's a test, they should also say so. Don't you think we already have enough on our minds?" questioned Yelena Reinaldo Ferrer, while José Ramón García speculated that it could be a test of the earthquake alarm carried out without prior notice.
Among the reactions, fear also predominated. "Many of us were scared," summarized Teresa Ramos. Javier Michel, for his part, mentioned that during those minutes, many people stopped thinking about their belongings and focused solely on protecting their lives.
Related videos:
Filed under: