A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Cuba

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Cuba on Sunday, causing material damage in numerous areas as the island struggles to recover from extensive blackouts and the impact of two hurricanes in recent weeks.

The earthquake was detected around 39 kilometers (24 miles) south of Bartolomé Masó before noon local time, one hour after a 5.9 magnitude quake shook the area, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Rumbling was detected across eastern Cuba, including major cities such as Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, and Guantanamo. Jamaican local media claimed that the earthquakes were felt around the island. There were no early reports of damage or injury.

“There have been landslides, damage to homes and power lines,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said, adding that authorities are evaluating the situation to start recovery efforts.

According to Enrique Diego Arango Arias, head of Cuba's National Seismological Service, the municipality of Pilón has experienced "a lot of damage," 

“I can’t answer messages or phone calls. I haven’t been able to post. The situation is quite complicated,” he said on Facebook.

The tremor was also felt in the eastern provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, and Guantánamo, where the disastrous Hurricane Oscar hit last month.

Another Category 3 hurricane, Rafael, smashed into western Cuba on Wednesday, knocking out power across the island in the latest severe outage in recent weeks.

According to the US National Tsunami Warning Center, Sunday's earthquake did not pose a large tsunami hazard, but it did warn of "a very small possibility of tsunami waves along coasts located nearest the epicenter."

The earthquake did not appear to be felt in Havana, Cuba's capital.