6.8 earthquakes near Bartolomé Masó, Cuba on Sunday

Cuba was hit by a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake on Sunday, amid a grueling recovery from recent power outages and damaging hurricane activity, officials said.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake occurred “occurred as a result of a predominantly strike-slip faults at shallow depth near the Septentrional-Oriente Fault Zone.”

It happened about 40 km from Bartolomé Masó, a municipality in Cuba’s Granma province, the agency said.

“We have communicated with the party’s first secretaries in Santiago de Cuba and Granma, provinces affected by the recent earthquakes,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel said in a speech. translated post on social media. “There have been landslides, damage to houses and power lines.”

He continued: “We are asking our people in these areas to get out and stay in open spaces. We are beginning to assess the damage to begin repairs. The first and most important thing is saving lives.”

Cuba is struggling with power outages and storms

The earthquake comes after millions of people were left without power for days in the dark due to widespread power plant failures in October.

Hurricane Oscara Category 1 hurricane, left the country without power as the Antonio Guiteras power plant, the country’s largest and most efficient, went offline for the first time.

Last week the electricity grid was hit again by the intensity of Hurricane Rafael. According to videos shared by NBC News, the storm This resulted in severe flooding and damage to houses and roads.

Contributions: Ahjané Forbes

Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected].