Seismic Event of Magnitude 3.9 Jolts Imías, Guantánamo

This past Tuesday, a 3.9 magnitude earthquake struck Cuba's far eastern region, with its epicenter located 41 kilometers southeast of Imías in Guantánamo province. This marks the eighth noticeable earthquake recorded in the country for the year 2026.

The seismic activity was confirmed by Enrique Diego Arango Arias, the technical deputy director of the National Center for Seismological Research (CENAIS) and head of the Cuban National Seismological Service. He shared the information at 9:40 a.m. via a Facebook post, which also served as the report's closing time.

Insight into the Earthquake

According to CENAIS data, the earthquake occurred at 9:22 a.m. local time—equivalent to 13:22:21 UTC—with the epicenter positioned at 19.80 degrees north latitude and -74.42 degrees west longitude, at a depth of 10 kilometers.

Arango Arias elaborated in his post, stating, "The network of stations at the Cuban National Seismological Service recorded an earthquake perceived at 9:22 am local time, located at the coordinates 19.80 degrees north latitude and -74.42 degrees west longitude, at a depth of 10.0 km and with a magnitude of 3.9, situated 41 km southeast of Imías, Guantánamo province."

The expert also noted, "Reports of perceptibility have been received from Imías and various locations within Guantánamo province," with no reports of material damage or casualties at the time of reporting.

An Active Seismic Year

Arango Arias emphasized that this is the "8th perceptible earthquake of 2026," highlighting the unusually high seismic activity in Cuba during the first half of the year, surpassing historical norms.

The daily seismological report from CENAIS for June 29-30—prepared by on-duty specialists Ruddy Matos Rizo and Gilberto Sánchez Arce—had already documented four earthquakes in the Imías area with magnitudes ranging from 2.1 to 2.7, in addition to two events in Santiago-Baconao, two in Cauto-Guacanayabo, and one in Camagüey-Cubitas.

Historical Seismic Activity in 2026

The seismic event on Tuesday occurred just a day after Arango Arias had warned of "interesting seismic activity" in Manzanillo, Granma, which had been noted since Sunday, June 28, in the influence area of the Cauto-Nipe fault.

In 2026, Imías and the southeastern part of Guantánamo have been central to the island's significant seismic activity, all linked to the Oriente Fault, the main active tectonic structure in Cuba, which serves as a transform boundary between the Gonâve microplate and the island's eastern extremity.

On February 8, a 5.6 magnitude earthquake caused cracks in 14 houses and the Imías polyclinic. On March 6, another earthquake of 5.3 magnitude shook the same area. The most notable event was a 6.0 magnitude earthquake on March 17, also southeast of Imías, which resulted in over 900 aftershocks within 24 hours.

A 3.8 magnitude earthquake on June 9, 39 kilometers from Imías, was identified by Arango Arias as a direct aftershock of the March earthquake.

Western Cuba has not been immune to this unusual activity: on June 8, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake in the Yucatan Channel, near Pinar del Río, was felt in Havana and southern Florida, described by Arango Arias as an event "we would never have expected" in that location. A 5.3 magnitude aftershock shook western Cuba on June 15 without causing damage.

In 2025, Cuba recorded 4,535 earthquakes throughout the year, with only 15 being perceptible. The fact that in just six months of 2026 there have already been eight noticeable earthquakes indicates an extraordinarily active seismic season for the island.