Nov. 11 (UPI) — Two strong earthquakes have occurred off the southern coast of Cuba, causing damage and causing landslides.

The first quake, with a magnitude of 5.9, struck around 10:50 a.m. Sunday local time, followed an hour later by the larger quake with a magnitude of 6.8, according to data from the United States Geological Survey.

Both struck off the southern coast of Bartolome Maso, with the first hitting about 22 miles (35 kilometers) from the town and the second 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the town, the U.S. monitor said, with both striking at a depth of more than 8.1 miles (13.5 kilometers).

President Miguel Diaz-Canel of Cuba said on X that houses and power lines were damaged by the earthquakes, which also caused landslides.

“We are starting to assess the damage to begin recovery. The first and most important thing is to save lives,” he said.

Enrique Diego Arango Arias, head of Cuba’s National Seismological Survey, known as CENAIS, said online that the municipality of Pilon, located in Granma province, had suffered “a lot of damage.”

The earthquakes occurred after Category 3 Hurricane Rafael tore through the island, leaving widespread destruction in its wake.