Another hurricane and blackout, now an earthquake. “We are in a critical situation”

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 occurred on Sunday in Granma province on Cuba's southeastern coast. The epicenter was about 40 kilometers south of the town of Bartolome Maso.

Buildings shook, including in Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city in this Caribbean country. As Reuters reports, residents of the area interviewed say they have never experienced such a strong earthquake before.

There is no information about major damage or casualties.

The earthquake is the latest in a series of natural disasters in Cuba over the past few weeks.

A significant part of the eastern end of the island was devastated by Hurricane Oscar in the second half of October. Shortly before the arrival of the element, Cuba experienced a massive paralysis of the energy system, which resulted in a power outage across the entire island. The cyclone's impact worsened the situation and some residents still remain without electricity.

Last week, another hurricane hit the western part of the island – Rafael – leading to extensive destruction and power outages since Friday, affecting 10 million people. The greatest paralysis of the electricity transmission system occurs in the provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque, in the west of the country, where there have been peaceful anti-government demonstrations desperate for shortages of electricity, water and food. There is also a lack of electricity in the metropolitan area of ​​Havana, the country's capital.

– We are in a critical situation – says Radio Marti, a resident of Havana, adding that “you can't blame only Hurricane Rafael, there have always been energy shortages.”

The social and economic situation in Cuba is currently considered the worst since the revolution led by Fidel Castro in the 1950s. There is a shortage not only of electricity, but also of essential goods, including food, medicines and fuel.