Cuba has beefed up its system of prevention for dealing with a major earthquake disaster after the series of temblors that followed the tragic January quake in nearby Haiti. “It's a matter of increasing the local authorities' response capacity in the different territories, while at the same time strengthening the population's seismological knowledge,” Tomás Chuy, of the Santiago, Cuba-based National Center for Seismological Research, told Tierramérica.

Speaking during a break at the 8th International Congress on Disasters, held last week in Havana, the expert said in addition officials have distributed pamphlets and used mass media like television and radio to disseminate measures to be taken when an earthquake strikes.

“It's essential that people know what to do in those cases,” said Chuy.