HAVANA - A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck near the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo in eastern Cuba, on Saturday and was felt in the island's second city of Santiago de Cuba

A spokesman at the Guantanamo base said no damage was reported there.

In Santiago de Cuba, about 32 miles (50 km) from the epicenter, residents said they felt the temblor.

"It was awful, you could feel it pretty strongly. It lasted longer than normal. Our phones are only receiving calls," Ariadna, a 34-year-old Cuban in the eastern city, told Reuters.

The quake was centered 27 miles (43 km) southwest of Guantanamo and had a depth of 14 miles (22 km), the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

A magnitude-5 quake can cause considerable damage, but Chief Petty Officer Bill Mesta, a spokesman at the U.S. Guantanamo base, said there was none reported.

There was no tsunami warning issued for the region.

The U.S. base in southeastern Cuba was used to transport supplies and personnel to the aid effort after the devastating 7.0-magnitude Jan. 12 quake in Haiti, about 200 miles (320 km) away.

A prison on the base, set up for terrorism suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, still houses 188 detainees. President Barack Obama pledged in January 2009 to close the controversial prison within a year, but his efforts to shutter the facility have been hampered by legal and political hurdles.