Earth Science News
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Cuba says arrests made over hurricane blackout protests; 2 quakes jolt island
Cuba says arrests made over hurricane blackout protests; 2 quakes jolt island
by AFP Staff Writers
Havana (AFP) Nov 10, 2024

Cuba's government said Saturday it arrested an unspecified number of people who staged demonstrations when a hurricane left the island without power for the second time in weeks.

Street protests are very rare in communist-run Cuba.

The prosecutor's office said those arrested in Havana and the central provinces of Mayabeque and Ciego de Avila were being charged with assault, public disorder and property damage.

Hurricane Rafael knocked power out on Wednesday after hitting the west of the Caribbean island of 10 million people as a major Category 3 storm. The blackout lasted two days.

It came just two weeks after Hurricane Oscar, which left eight dead in the east of the island during a national electricity blackout caused by the failure of the island's biggest power plant and a shortage of fuel.

The government said that half of the people of Havana now have electricity again but much of the capital and the neighboring province of Artemisa do not.

According to the prosecutor's office, those detained after protesting were being held "for acts of aggression against authorities and territorial inspectors, causing injuries and public disturbances."

A human rights group called Justicia 11J said more than 10 people were arrested in Guanabacoa, a town on the outskirts of Havana.

"Persecution of people in the capital continues," it wrote on the social media platform X. It said those arrested had been acting peacefully in protests that the group itself documented.

The Miami-based NGO Cubalex said Friday that eight people were arrested in Encrucijada in central Cuba.

Cuba has been suffering hours-long power cuts for months and is in the throes of its worst economic crisis since the breakup of key ally the Soviet Union in the early 1990s -- marked by soaring inflation and shortages of basic goods.

The island's electricity is generated by eight aging coal-fired power plants, some of which have broken down or are under maintenance, as well as seven floating plants leased from Turkish companies and a raft of diesel-powered generators.

With concerns of instability on the rise, President Miguel Diaz-Canel has warned that his government will not tolerate attempts to "disturb public order."

On July 11, 2021, thousands of Cubans took to the streets across the island shouting "We are hungry" and "Freedom!" in a rare challenge to the communist government.

According to Mexico-based Justicia 11J, more than 1,500 people were arrested after those protests, of whom 600 are still in prison.

Some have been given prison terms of up to 25 years.

Other sporadic protests have occurred in the last three years, erupting over power blackouts and other miseries.

The UN General Assembly last week renewed its long-standing call for the United States to lift its six-decade trade embargo on the communist island.

Two strong quakes jolt Cuba
Havana (AFP) Nov 10, 2024 - Two powerful earthquakes rocked southern Cuba in quick succession on Sunday, US geologists said, sending Cubans running into the streets as authorities said no tsunami alert was issued and no deaths immediately reported.

The US Geological Survey put the second, more powerful tremor at a magnitude of 6.8 and 14.6 miles (23.5 kilometers) deep, some 25 miles off the coast of Bartolome Maso, in southern Granma province.

It came just an hour after a first tremor, which the USGS put at a magnitude of 5.9, with the epicenter some nine miles beneath the ocean roughly 22 miles off the municipality of Bartolome Maso.

The state-run newspaper Granma said no deaths had been immediately reported, but that the quake had been felt throughout eastern and central provinces of the Caribbean island nation.

"Here people quickly took to the streets because the ground moved very strongly," Andres Perez, a 65-year-old retiree who lives in downtown Santiago de Cuba, told AFP via telephone of the first quake.

"It felt very strong really, my wife is a bundle of nerves," he added.

"There are houses with cracked walls, others had walls falling down and some had their roofs collapsed," Karen Rodriguez, a 28-year-old hairdresser, told AFP from Caney de las Mercedes, a small town in Bartolome Maso.

Residents in Bayamo, a city of some 140,000 people near Bartolome Maso, described street poles swaying. "People did get scared, everyone came running out of the houses very scared," 24-year-old welder Livan Chavez told AFP.

The US tsunami warning system said no tsunami warning had been issued.

The tremor shook the island as it recovers from Hurricane Rafael, which hit the country's west as a Category 3 storm, leaving residents without power for two days.

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded in October 2023 in Santiago de Cuba, without causing any damage.

Another strong earthquake of magnitude 7.7 was recorded in January 2020 in the Caribbean and was felt in several Cuban provinces, causing the evacuation of buildings in the capital Havana, with no damage reported.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Tens of thousands protest in Spain over handling of deadly floods
Valencia, Spain (AFP) Nov 9, 2024
Tens of thousands of people marched Saturday in Valencia to voice their anger at the authorities' handling of deadly floods. Thousands also marched in other Spanish cities, but the Valencia regional authorities put the turnout in the regional capital at 130,000. Some protesters shouted "Murderers! Murderers!" and some carried placards denouncing Valencia's regional president as well as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The region was the worst hit by last month's floods, the most serious ... read more

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Tens of thousands protest in Spain over handling of deadly floods

Fukushima trial nuclear debris removal complete

Online disinformation exacerbates Spain flood disaster

Having weathered Trump's first term, UN braces for more turmoil

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
NASA to transform in-space manufacturing with laser beam welding collaboration

A smart screen for cooling and sun protection

New AI microbiome tool offers breakthroughs in forensics and epidemiology

Wooden bricks set to sea off Denmark to track plastic waste

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
US hopes river pact with Mexico will reduce water scarcity

Experts Warn of Potential Ocean Epidemic Risk from Migrating Species

Pentagon announces new director of Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies

Thousands take to London streets demanding cleaner water

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Measurements from Lost Seaglider reveal impact of warm ocean water on Antarctic ice

Planting trees in the Arctic may worsen climate change

Greenland eyes tourism takeoff with new airport runway

Deep ocean study offers new insights into ancient ice age shift

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Cracked earth in Greece's saffron heartland as drought takes toll

Economic woes sour prospects for China's dairy farmers

NASA, Bhutan Conclude Five Years of Teamwork on STEM, Sustainability

More than 33 million Nigerians face hunger next year: report

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Flood-hit Spain drenched by wettest October on record

NASA: Hurricane Helene produced 'enormous' gravity waves in upper atmosphere

Indonesia volcano catapults vast ash tower into sky

South Sudan floods affect 1.4 million, displace 379,000: UN

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Mali detains 3 executives from gold mining firm Resolute

Sudan army govt accuses paramilitaries of causing 120 civilian deaths in 2 days

UK FM Lammy vows 'new approach' ahead of Africa trip

Chad denies anti-jihadist operation hit civilians

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Chimpanzees show improved performance on difficult computer tasks with an audience

New findings on Denisovans reveal their role in shaping early human genetics

Memories extend beyond the brain in new NYU study

Human culture's distinctiveness lies in its open-ended nature

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.