Puerto Rico is shaking: a million and a half people without electricity, old residents in cars
A series of powerful noises, including the strongest in the last century, have rocked the island in recent days. A quarter of 3 million residents do not have access to clean water, and electricity is expected to return in just a few days. "It's just awful. Everything fell on our heads." Trump has declared an emergency
Puerto Rico is shaking: a million and a half people without electricity, old residents in cars
Photo: Reuters, edited by Tal ResnikMore than half of Puerto Rico's three million residents remain without electricity and thousands of older people outside their homes today, due to a series of earthquakes that destroyed homes on the Caribbean island. In the earthquakes yesterday, including the strongest that has been affecting American territory for 102 years, at least one person was killed. At least 300 homes were destroyed or damaged and an emergency was declared.
The southern part of the island suffered the most damage, with dozens of houses destroyed in the cities of Yauko, Guanika and Guiana due to the noise of magnitude 6.4 and sub-noise of magnitude 5.6. Many residents slept in their cars for fear that their home would collapse in the event of another earthquake.
"Awful, awful, awful, awful. Everything fell on our heads," said Josephine Pachau, who ran to the street during the earthquakes. "It's very difficult to see so many houses around you collapsing."
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To the full articleAt least one person was killed. Demolished building (Photo: Reuters)
Earthquake damage to Puerto Rico January 8, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)
Electricity is expected to fully return to all parts of the island just this weekend, following the damage done to the island's main reactor station and other energy infrastructure. Authorities said it would take about a year to repair the Costa Sur station, which by Tuesday supplied about a quarter of Puerto Rico's electricity consumption.
The power outages recaptured the memories of the days following Hurricane Maria in 2017, which led to widespread power outages, following the disaster in which nearly 3,000 people were killed. About a quarter of the population still has no access to running water and more than 2,200 people remain homeless and have taken shelter in government shelters.
In Guanica, Santo Manuel Revis Pietri, a local supermarket owner, began cleaning the collapsed shelves and examining the damage done to the building.
"There was almost complete destruction here, inside and outside," said the owner, who estimated that the damage he sustained was hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Damage of hundreds of thousands of dollars." Demolished supermacmet (Photo: Reuters)
A man visits a nearby supermarket for food supplies after the earthquake damage hit Puerto Rico on January 8, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)
The earthquakes are joined by a series of natural disasters and political scandals that have plagued the island in recent years. Puerto Rico went bankrupt and its governor resigned last year due to turbulent street protests.
On Tuesday, United States President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in Puerto Rico and authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate rescue and relief efforts with Puerto Rico officials. The Ministry of Health has declared a state of emergency to secure funding for the hospitals.
More than 500 earthquakes shocked the South Island between December 28 and Tuesday, including 32 that were four or more powerful. The 6.4 magnitude quake was the strongest hit in Puerto Rico since 1918, so a powerful 7.3 magnitude quake and tsunami caused the death of 116 people. Although the island is accustomed to hurricanes, strong earthquakes are rare.
