A 5.5-magnitude earthquake on Saturday morning rattled southern Puerto Rico.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck off the coast of Ponce and Peñuelas – a region that has been hit by a series of earthquakes since late 2019.
The spokeswoman for the city of Ponce revealed that a second-floor balcony had collapsed, and pictures on social media showed damage in the city’s colonial center.
The earthquake and several aftershocks were felt in the capital, San Juan, and come as the island has been on lock-down since March 16 due to the coronavirus.
Gov. Wanda Vázquez reminded people not to forget security precautions related to the virus if they evacuate their homes.
“To our people, stay calm,” Vázquez wrote on Twitter. “We’re ready for any emergency. If your structure is damaged, you should leave with your mask and your emergency backpack.”
Puerto Rico’s Power Authority said the tremor had knocked its EcoElectrica power plant off-line, but the agency said there were no signs of damage at the Guayabal and Guajataca dams.
The U.S. territory of 3.2 million people has reported 1,757 cases of the coronavirus and 95 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic The island is scheduled to take the first steps toward reopening its economy on Monday..
Puerto Rico’s southern coast has been battered by earthquakes that began in late 2019 and culminated on Jan 7 with a 6.4-magnitude and a series of aftershocks that damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and left one dead. It also forced thousands of people to sleep in government-provided and makeshift camps. Many of those people are still sleeping outside.
Jose Seda, 55, spent more than a month camping outside, in the southern city of Guayanilla, after the earthquakes early this year. But he was back living at his home on Saturday, when the morning jolt sent him running onto the street.
“It was strong,” he said. “There was no way not to feel it.”
But what’s really bothering people right now is the coronavirus lockdown that is keeping them from working, he said.
“People are stuck at home and want to get back to work,” he said. “Because of the economic situation, we’re getting desperate.”
Saturday’s earthquake is related to January’s “main shock,” the USGS said — making it one of more than six aftershocks of magnitude 5.5 or larger. In addition, the island has been hit by more than a thousand tremors of magnitude 3.0 and larger since then.
Puerto Rico is squeezed between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates and earthquakes are frequent in the region.
