Magnitude 5.6 quake rocks Cuba

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A 5.6-magnitude earthquake has struck near Guantanamo city in eastern Cuba on Saturday, sending alarmed residents fleeing into the streets and causing cracks in some buildings, residents said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or serious damage on Sunday. A spokesman at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay also reported no damage there.

The quake, which also was felt strongly in Cuba's second city of Santiago de Cuba, was centred 43 km southwest of Guantanamo at a depth of 22 km, the US Geological Survey reported.

"It was very big. I was at my computer and suddenly felt the strong shake and we all went into the street," said Lisset Foster, a homeowner who rents out rooms at her house in Guantanamo City. "Everyone is in the street."

State-run Radio Reloj reported from Guantanamo that the quake caused cracks in some buildings and some pieces of masonry fell. The damage was being evaluated, the radio said, but it mentioned no casualties.

Residents of Santiago de Cuba, about 50 km from the epicenter, also felt the quake.

"It was awful. You could feel it pretty strongly. It lasted longer than normal. Our phones are only receiving calls," Ariadna, a 34-year-old Cuban in the eastern city, told Reuters.

A magnitude-5 quake can cause considerable damage but Chief Petty Officer Bill Mesta, a spokesman at the US Guantanamo base, said none was reported.

No tsunami warning was issued for the region.

The US base in southeastern Cuba was used to transport supplies and personnel to the aid effort after the devastating 7.0-magnitude January 12 quake in Haiti, about 200 miles (320 km) away.

A prison on the base, set up for terrorism suspects after the September 11, 2001, attacks, still houses 188 detainees. US President Barack Obama pledged in January 2009 to close the controversial prison within a year but his efforts have been hampered by legal and political hurdles.

- Reuters