Havana, Jan 17 (Prensa Latina) The Cuban authorities remain alert on the seismological situation in the east of the island, with the report today of 12 perceptible quakes, whose magnitudes range from three to five on the Richter scale.

In a statement, the General Staff of the National Civil Defense reported that actions are pointed in order to rpepare for a massive earthquake at the national level in the territory of the eastern region and that the population has acted in accordance with standards.

Due to the occurrence of earthquakes with epicenters located 40 kilometers from the city of Santiago de Cuba since dawn, the General Staff of the National Civil Defense and the National Seismological Research Center keep on alert on the behavior of seismic activity in the Santiago-Baconao sector, seen as the most dangerous.

Authorities also determined the forces and means of the ministries of the Armed Forces, Interior, Economy and Planning, Public Health, Transport, Construction, Communications and the Cuban National Red Cross Society involved in the actions of response and recovery in view of an earthquake of great intensity.

All this, noted the text, taking into account existing vulnerabilities, based on the state of construction and maintenance of houses and industrial facilities, mainly those handling hazardous substances and the ones that offer services.

Although so far no human and material damages have been reported for the earthquakes, guidelines have been issued in accordance with what has been stipulated by the Communication Strategy scheduled for disaster situations.