San Juan [AP]. A magnitude 5.8 earthquake shook Puerto Rico in the early hours of Monday, causing small landslides, power cuts and severe cracks in some homes. It was one of the most powerful registered in the American territory, where it has trembled for more than a week.
At the moment no deaths were reported.
Que tragedia y sólo fue 5.8 grados. Puerto Rico tiembla! pic.twitter.com/k02sKS8GPp
— David A. Cordova (@DavidACordova4) January 6, 2020
The quake was recorded at 06:32 hours just south of the island, at a relatively scarce depth of 10 kilometers (more than 6 miles), according to the United States Geological Survey. There was no threat of tsunami, authorities said.
Así es como la tierra va teniendo cambios a lo largo de los años con los terremotos. Puerto Rico ya tiene cambios físicos visibles. pic.twitter.com/2VlovGsYMm
— Diógenes Henríquez (@Diogeneshd) January 6, 2020
According to Vázquez, it was one of the most powerful earthquakes recorded since the earth began to shake on December 28 and “lasted a long time.”
Residents of the southern coastal towns published images on the Internet of partially demolished houses and large rocks blocking roads, while the authorities called for calm.
#Sismo #TemblorPR despierta a #PuertoRico M5.7
Reportan desprendimiento de rocas en la PR2 a la altura de Peñuelas/Ponce y cortes de energía en #Yauco
Créditos ? Albert Caastillo
Vía @AlbertCaastillo pic.twitter.com/rnRH5Fnwf3— Geól. Sergio Almazán (@chematierra) January 6, 2020
Dr. Sindia Alvarado, who lives in Peñuelas, a municipality in that region, said she was petrified and that her whole family woke up screaming.
In a hotel in the town of Guánica, on the southwest coast of the island, people panicked trying to flee in their cars, but large stones occupied the only road north, towards the capital, San Juan, The lawyer José Francisco Benítez told the AP.
AHORA: Unidades se movilizan al área de la playa de Guayanilla donde aparentemente una residencia de don niveles colapsa de los soportes (columnas). @NmeadX @NMEADpr @redsismica @wandavazquezg @TelenoticiasPR @NoticentroWAPA @DronChinita @enas_puertorico @OMMEADGUAYANILL pic.twitter.com/WVo6a4mUid
— Puerto Rico Responders Inc (@inc_puerto) January 6, 2020
The unusual series of earthquakes in the southern region of the island began on the night of December 28, with tremors whose magnitudes range between 4.7 and 5.1.
Víctor Huérfano, director of the Puerto Rico Seismic Network, told the AP that the series of surface earthquakes was recorded in three faults located in the southwest region: Lajas Valley, Punta Montalva and the Guayanilla Canyon. Tremors usually occur when the North American plate and the Caribbean plate squeeze Puerto Rico, and it is not clear when it will stop happening.
One of the strongest and most devastating earthquakes in Puerto Rico was recorded in October 1918, an earthquake of magnitude 7.3 that hit near the northwest coast of the island, caused a tsunami and killed 116 people.
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