M5.9 Earthquake 41 km SSW of Guisa, Cuba — December 23, 2024
2024-12-23 06:00:56 UTC (2024-12-23) · approx. 1:00 AM UTC-5 local
Felt by 75 people across nearby locations. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 6.4 (very strong).
On December 23, 2024 at 06:00 UTC, a magnitude 5.9 shallow crustal earthquake struck 41 km SSW of Guisa, Cuba, at a depth of 7.0 km and coordinates 19.8862°, -76.6255°. The earthquake was reported felt by 75 peopleacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 6.4 (very strong). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 246 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 602, making it a moderate-impact event. The nearest populated place is Buey Arriba (population 0).
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 11 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 7.1 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Nearest Populated Places
ShakeMap — predicted shaking intensity
Modeled ground-motion intensity contoured on the Modified Mercalli scale (MMI). Computed by the USGS from the moment-tensor solution and regional ground-motion prediction equations.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 75 citizen responses to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Population exposure (USGS PAGER)
Estimated population that experienced each level of shaking. Based on the USGS PAGER rapid impact assessment, which combines ShakeMap output with global population grids.
| Shaking intensity (MMI) | Description | Population exposed |
|---|---|---|
| MMI 3 | weak | 1,979,867 |
| MMI 4 | light | 3,015,577 |
| MMI 5 | moderate | 552,483 |
| MMI 6 | strong | 7,468 |
| MMI 7 | very strong | 959 |
Earthquake Details
-76.6255°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.9 earthquake near Guisa, Cuba?
The magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck 41 km SSW of Guisa, Cuba on December 23, 2024 at 06:00 UTC had a depth of 7.0 km. It was felt by 75 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 6.4 (very strong). For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 19.8862°, -76.6255°, which is 41 km SSW of Guisa, Cuba. The nearest populated place is Buey Arriba (population 0).
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.9 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Location
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000p0uj). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2024, December 23, 2024). M5.9 Earthquake 41 km SSW of Guisa, Cuba — December 23, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000p0uj/