This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/us/earthquake-puerto-rico.html

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Earthquake Jolts Southwest Puerto Rico Earthquake Strikes Puerto Rico: ‘It Looked Like a Movie’
(about 3 hours later)
SAN JUAN, P.R. — A 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook southwestern Puerto Rico before sunrise on Monday, sending boulders into roads, cracking house walls and frightening people out of their beds. GUÁNICA, P.R. — A 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook southwestern Puerto Rico before sunrise on Monday, sending boulders into roads, cracking house walls and frightening people out of their beds.
The quake struck at 6:32 a.m., according to the United States Geological Survey. It was the strongest yet to be felt in the coastal towns west of the city of Ponce that have been trembling for more than a week. The rash of smaller temblors began with three shakes of 4.7, 5.0 and 4.7 magnitude within three hours during the night of Dec. 28-29, all clustered in the same area, and have continued since then. No tsunami threat has been reported. The quake struck at 6:32 a.m. local time, according to the United States Geological Survey. It was the strongest yet to be felt in the coastal towns west of the city of Ponce that have been trembling for more than a week. The rash of smaller temblors began with three shakes of 4.7, 5.0 and 4.7 magnitude in the space of three hours during the night of Dec. 28-29, all clustered in the same area, and have continued since then. No tsunami threat has been reported.
“It started shaking a bit, but then, all of a sudden, we felt a jolt — I’d never seen anything like it,” said José Francisco Benítez, 48, who was awakened by the quake at a beach resort in the town of Guánica. “Everything shook.”“It started shaking a bit, but then, all of a sudden, we felt a jolt — I’d never seen anything like it,” said José Francisco Benítez, 48, who was awakened by the quake at a beach resort in the town of Guánica. “Everything shook.”
He said he ran outside in a panic, along with everyone else. “There were people in their underwear in the parking lot, everyone in pajamas, little kids,” Mr. Benítez said. “It looked like a movie.”He said he ran outside in a panic, along with everyone else. “There were people in their underwear in the parking lot, everyone in pajamas, little kids,” Mr. Benítez said. “It looked like a movie.”
A strong, 4.9-magnitude aftershock struck about four hours after the big quake, rattling nerves again.
Officials warned of possible mudslides and urged people to stay off the roads in the area to allow emergency personnel to assess the damage. Monday is Three Kings Day, a holiday in Puerto Rico that is also known as the Feast of the Epiphany. Mr. Benítez, who had traveled to Guánica for the long weekend, said he planned to quickly return to San Juan, the capital.Officials warned of possible mudslides and urged people to stay off the roads in the area to allow emergency personnel to assess the damage. Monday is Three Kings Day, a holiday in Puerto Rico that is also known as the Feast of the Epiphany. Mr. Benítez, who had traveled to Guánica for the long weekend, said he planned to quickly return to San Juan, the capital.
Mayor Santos Seda of Guánica, where some of the most serious damage was reported, told NotiCentro, a local news station, that at least four houses had collapsed. His interview was cut short when his telephone call to the station was dropped. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority reported local outages as a result of the temblor.
Mayor Santos Seda of Guánica, where some of the most serious damage was reported early on Monday, told NotiCentro, a local news station, that at least four houses had collapsed. His interview was cut short when his telephone call to the station was dropped. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority reported local outages as a result of the temblor.
Photos posted on social media showed severe cracks in the walls of older raised homes in the area, and partial collapses of some.Photos posted on social media showed severe cracks in the walls of older raised homes in the area, and partial collapses of some.
Mayor Nelson Torres Yordán of Guayanilla told NotiCentro that emergency workers had helped a couple and two children whose house had collapsed. He said he had not yet confirmed whether a well-known rock formation shaped like a round window on Playa Ventana, a local beach, had also been destroyed, as photos posted on social media showed. In Guayanilla, emergency workers helped a couple and two children whose elevated house collapsed, burying three cars that had been parked underneath. The man who lived inside, identified only by his first name, Alan, described to NotiCentro the harrowing moment in which the earth trembled, waking him up as the floor gave way.
Elizabeth Vanacore, a seismologist with Puerto Rico’s Seismic Network, said people felt the recent quakes because they were shallow and occurred near land. “The house fell with us in it,” he said, standing outside barefoot with two bloody scratches on his leg. “The house collapsed, ‘Boom!’”
He picked up one of his children, his wife grabbed the other one, and they made their way out the door. The house had stood on 12 columns about eight feet tall. The automobiles below appeared to stave off a complete collapse of the roof, he said.
“We’re alive, thank God, because of the cars,” he said.
His wife said they would be unable to salvage the Three Kings Day gifts they had purchased for the children — a pair of bicycles, stowed in the trunk of one of the cars. The interview was dramatically interrupted by the strong aftershock, which made the woman and the reporter scream and rush off camera to a safer side of the street, away from power lines and poles.
Mayor Nelson Torres Yordán of Guayanilla confirmed that Punta Ventana, a well-known rock formation shaped like a round window at a local beach, was destroyed.
Elizabeth Vanacore, a seismologist with the Puerto Rico Seismic Network, said people felt the recent quakes because they were shallow and occurred near land.
“People can expect to feel more earthquakes over the next few days, especially given its location near the coast,” Dr. Vanacore said.“People can expect to feel more earthquakes over the next few days, especially given its location near the coast,” Dr. Vanacore said.
Puerto Rico lies near the border of the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates. “We’re just as likely to have earthquakes as a place like California, Japan, New Zealand, Alaska,” Dr. Vanacore said.Puerto Rico lies near the border of the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates. “We’re just as likely to have earthquakes as a place like California, Japan, New Zealand, Alaska,” Dr. Vanacore said.
The island has seen damaging quakes in the past, including one near the island’s northwest coast in 1918 that killed 116 people, according to The Associated Press. But major earthquakes in the southwestern part of Puerto Rico have been unusual in recent history. The last significant temblors recorded in that area, in 1991 and 1999, had a magnitude of about 4.1 on the Richter scale, according to the Seismic Network, whose data dates back to 1986. The island has seen damaging quakes in the past, including one near the island’s northwest coast in 1918 that triggered a tsunami and killed 118 people, according to the Geological Service. But major earthquakes in the southwestern part of Puerto Rico have been unusual in recent history. The last significant temblors recorded in that area, in 1991 and 1999, had a magnitude of about 4.1 on the Richter scale, according to the Seismic Network, whose data dates back to 1986.
“While we can’t predict earthquakes, what the public can do is prepare,” Dr. Vanacore said.“While we can’t predict earthquakes, what the public can do is prepare,” Dr. Vanacore said.
Alejandra Rosa reported from San Juan, P.R., and Patricia Mazzei from Miami. Alejandra Rosa reported from Guánica, P.R., and Patricia Mazzei from Miami.