An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 shook the south of Puerto Rico on Tuesday again leaving at least one dead, power cuts on the island and damage to homes. Two strong aftershocks of 5.6 happened hours later. The first earthquake took place at 4.24 hours (8.24 GMT) with the epicenter south of the island at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to the United States Geological Survey.
The aftershocks happened at 7.18 local time (11.18 GMT) 44 kilometers southeast of the municipality of Maunabo and 87 kilometers southeast of the capital, San Juan, according to the Puerto Rico Seismic Network (RSPR). This tremor was recorded 52 kilometers deep in the area known as the Trench of the Dead. This tremor preceded another recorded at 06.13 local time (10.13 GMT) in the area south of Puerto Rico, 15 kilometers south of Peñuelas and 15 kilometers southeast of Guayanilla.
These tremors occurred just one day after registering another 5.8 degree telluric movement that caused severe damage to homes. Although a tsunami alert was initially issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, minutes later the RSPR canceled it. The governor of the territory, Wanda Vázquez, announced the suspension of work for public officials.
https://twitter.com/wandavazquezg/status/1214485311524425730
Like the tremor on Tuesday, the epicenter of this new earthquake was registered south of Guayanilla and southwest of Ponce. The governor of the island asked for "calm" to the residents of Puerto Rico after the strong tremor through Twitter and urged them to "remain safe."
https://twitter.com/wandavazquezg/status/1214471874345885697
Glidden López, spokesman for the Municipality of Guayanilla, said several buildings in the municipality were destroyed and a local parish collapsed, in statements collected by the newspaper El Nuevo Día .
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority reported that damages were reported in the Central Costa Sur and substations are evaluated around the island and that they hope to recover the service in the next few hours. In addition, the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority also reported problems in the network, which hope to rectify the water service "as soon as possible".
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said Monday that in recent weeks there have been hundreds of small earthquakes in the region of Puerto Rico, a series that began an earthquake of 4.7 on December 28 of 2019. The last great earthquake was the one recorded on Monday, 5.8, with several replicas, including one of magnitude 5.1 more than four hours later. These earthquakes, USGS said, are a result of the North American plate converging with the Caribbean plate and the island is compressed between the two.
The governor, who already promised on Monday helps those affected by the magnitude 5.8 earthquake and who especially punished the municipalities of Guánica and Guayanilla, where several homes collapsed, said Tuesday that all government security services are "activated ".
For the sake of greater security, Vázquez announced that the public sector will close on Tuesday so officials can stay with their families and urged citizens to inspect their residences as soon as dawn.
RELATED:
A quake of magnitude 5.8 shakes southern Puerto Rico causing damage to homes
Videos show the moment of the quake of magnitude 5.8 in Puerto Rico
