ZCZC
BFF-56
PUERTORICO-QUAKE
Magnitude 6.4 earthquake shakes Puerto Rico: USGS
SAN JUAN, Jan 7, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A strong earthquake struck south of
Puerto Rico early Tuesday followed by major aftershocks, the US Geological
Survey said, the latest in a series of tremors that have shaken the island
since December 28.
The shallow 6.4 magnitude quake struck five miles (eight kilometers) south
of the community of Indios, the USGS said, revising down its initial reading
of 6.6.
The quake struck just off the US territory’s southern Caribbean coastline
at 4:24 am local time (0824 GMT).
Just ten minutes later, a shallow 5.6 magnitude aftershock struck five
miles off the southwest coast near Tallaboa, followed by a shallow 5.8
magnitude aftershock at 7:18 am (1118 GMT) one mile south of the community.
“The whole island is without power,” the director of Puerto Rico Electric
Power Authority, Jose Ortiz, told local media.
Puerto Rico’s governor Wanda Vazquez posted on Twitter that the
government’s security protocols had been activated.
She said government employees were not expected at work, adding: “We want
everyone to be safe.”
On social media, people wrote of being shaken awake by the force of the
quake.
One woman on Twitter said she had been “wrenched from sleep,” adding
“everybody is awake & scared all over.”
Dramatic images also shared on social media appeared to show widespread
damage in the town of Guayanilla, home to around 20,000 people, as well as
nearby Guanica.
The mayor of Guayanilla told local news channel NotiUno that the town’s
church had collapsed in the incident.
An alert issued by the Tsunami Warning Center immediately following the
earthquake was later cancelled.
Tuesday’s quake was the strongest of a series of tremors that have shaken
the island since December 28, topping Monday’s 5.8 quake.
That earthquake toppled houses and caused power outages, but there were no
reports of casualties.
It did, however, destroy the popular tourist landmark Punta Ventana, a
stone arch that crumbled on the island’s southern coast.
Puerto Rico is no stranger to recent natural disaster. The island was
devastated in 2017 by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm that shattered the
island’s already shaky power grid, overwhelmed public services, left many
residents without a roof over their heads, and killed several thousand people
according to government estimates.
BSS/AFP/IJ/1919 hrs