An earthquake alert that appeared on Android phones and tablets this Tuesday caused moments of panic in several provinces of Cuba and prompted many people to leave their homes, workplaces, and other buildings out of fear that a strong earthquake was about to occur.
The warning turned out to be a false seismic alert transmitted via mobile devices, as clarified shortly afterward by specialists and Cuban authorities.
Doctor Enrique Diego Arango Arias, head of the National Seismological Service of Cuba and technical deputy director of the National Center for Seismological Research (CENAIS), reacted quickly to the confusion generated on the island.
"False earthquake alarm in Cuba transmitted via phones," he wrote on his social media.
Later, Arango Arias provided a more detailed explanation, shared by the newspaper Sierra Maestra, in which he clarified that the alerts received on mobile devices in various parts of the country were not supported by any official warning.
"The earthquake alarm that reached mobile devices in many parts of the country is not based on any officially issued alert," the specialist clarified.
The head of the National Seismological Service added that the country's network of stations had not detected any significant seismic activity that would warrant such a warning.
"The specialist emphasized that the network of stations of the Service has not detected the occurrence of any significant seismic activity, so the information that has also been spread on social media and through mobile phones is completely false," stated Sierra Maestra.
The official newspaper Girón also denied that an earthquake of the magnitude warned by the devices was occurring. The outlet quoted Mario Sabines Lorenzo, the first secretary of the Communist Party in Matanzas, who stated he had contacted the National Civil Defense General Staff to verify the situation.
"The reports of the earthquake and the earthquake alert are false," the newspaper reported.
However, hours later, the CENAIS clarified an element that may have contributed to the confusion: a tremor was indeed recorded in Cuba this Tuesday, although its location and characteristics did not match the alert received by numerous users.
The epicenter was located in Ciego de Ávila, at coordinates 21.52 degrees north latitude and 78.72 degrees west longitude. Authorities reported no material damage or casualties related to this seismic event.
"Everyone is in the streets."
The alert reached users in at least nine provinces: Mayabeque, Granma, Holguín, Matanzas, Havana, Ciego de Ávila, Camagüey, Las Tunas, and Santiago de Cuba.
Not all phones reacted the same way. Some users reported that they did not receive any warning. Two residents of El Vedado, in Havana, for example, said that their devices did not show the notification.
For those who did receive it, the reaction in some places was immediate.
"In the center of Camagüey, everyone is in the streets," reported a witness.
From Campechuela, in Granma, Jenny Yero stated that "people are very worried," while Norge Luis Fernández Ardevol mentioned that they had also left their properties: "We also moved to open areas."
In Santiago de Cuba, where seismic movements are part of the recent memory of its residents, the warning created particular concern.
"People rushed into the street. In Santiago, we remember the occurrence of several earthquakes," reported a resident.
"Many of us were frightened," summarized Teresa Ramos, another person caught off guard by the alarm.
The seismic notifications on Android devices are part of the Google Android Earthquake Alert System, a technology that uses the sensors in the phones themselves to detect movements consistent with an earthquake and complement information from seismological systems.
According to Google, alerts can be sent for nearby earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or higher, as long as certain features, such as location, are activated. The company itself warns that not all earthquakes can be detected and that estimates of magnitude and intensity may contain errors.
So far, there has been no official information regarding what caused the warning to reach devices of users located in different parts of Cuba.
A population particularly sensitive to earthquakes
The scare comes in the context of heightened attention towards seismic activity in Cuba and the Caribbean. Throughout 2026, several noticeable tremors have been reported in the region, some of considerable magnitude, which has increased concerns among the population.
The reaction this Tuesday also recalls the events in Baracoa in June 2021, when a false rumor about the arrival of a tsunami caused around a thousand people to seek refuge in elevated areas. Some later required medical attention.
On this occasion, there were no victims or damages associated with the alert, but for several minutes, thousands of Cubans had to confront the uncertainty of not knowing whether the notification that had just appeared on their phones indicated a real earthquake.
People going out to open spaces in various parts of the country demonstrated to what extent the concern over seismic phenomena remains alive in Cuba and how an alert received directly on their cell phones can trigger an immediate reaction when the population believes their safety is at risk.
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