Powerful Puerto Rico quake leaves 1 dead, destroys Colonial-era church and zaps power

Jan. 7--GUAYANILLA, Puerto Rico -- Hours after a powerful earthquake struck in the early morning hours Tuesday, Puerto Ricans were still reeling from the aftermath: at least one person dead, dozens of damaged buildings and roads, hundreds of people evacuated from their homes, scattered power outages, and a toppled church and public school.

The 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit off the southern coast at 4:24 a.m. Tuesday, briefly sparking a tsunami alert. Since then, the U.S. Geological Survey has reported at least 11 earthquakes and aftershocks in the same area, including a magnitude 6.0 at 7:18 a.m.

For an island that is used to preparing for tropical hurricanes, the tremors have sparked a wave of panic as they have increased in strength since they began on Dec. 28.

"At least we knew the hurricane was coming," said Ruben Cruz Soto, 52, a teacher in the southern town of Guayanilla. "With earthquakes you have no idea."

Government authorities scrambled to dispel rumors and asked residents to remain calm. Long lines formed at gas stations and supermarkets, where Puerto Ricans sought to prepare despite explanations from government authorities that the island's ports are fully functional and extended blackouts are not expected.

At a press conference, Gov. Wanda Vázquez announced she was declaring an island-wide state of emergency, extending holiday breaks for schools around the island and temporarily shutting down all public agency operations. Hundreds of aftershocks are expected within the next week, most forecast to range between a magnitude 3.0 and 5.0.

"We're talking about a situation that never happens in Puerto Rico," Vázquez told reporters, urging residents to plan on their own immediate preparation. "It's not like a hurricane where we can prepare, that we can see it coming... you have to be prepared."

She said structural engineers were evaluating damaged homes in southern towns, which had already suffered damage from an earthquake on Monday. As of noon Tuesday, 346 people had sought shelters in stadiums and other locations along the island's southwestern coast.

The second and third floors of one school in the town of Guánica crumbled over onto first level. Images circulated on social media showing how ceilings barely hung over students' desks. At least seven schools suffered damage, Vázquez said.

Authorities could not say exactly how many schools were up to current safety codes on the island, but Vázquez said 100 percent of the schools would be inspected before classes resumed some time next week. They have not been inspected since after Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Meanwhile, Glidden Lopez, the spokesman for Guayanilla municipality, said the city's colonial-era church had been destroyed during the pre-dawn earthquake.

"All that's left is one wall and half of another wall," Lopez said of the beige and pink building that had dominated the main plaza. "The hospital was damaged and there were several houses that have collapsed, but we don't know how many yet."

At the central plaza in Guayanilla people had gathered to look at the ruins of the Catholic church. It's side walls had collapsed, revealing views of the pews inside.

The parish dates back to the 1840s but the building was reportedly finished in the early 1900s.

Ariana Acosta had brought her 10-year old daughter to the church where they had just attended Christmas Mass.

"So many generations have attended this church. This is where I had first communion -- where I baptized my daughter," Acosta said. "It's shocking to see it like this."

Asked if she thought it could be rebuilt she said, "there's always hope."

Guayanilla lost one if its main tourist attractions, a natural seaside arch known as Punta Ventana, during Monday's quake.

At least 30 homes in Guánica were damaged and others had collapsed along the southern coast, and one of the major highways connecting the southern part of the island was closed by rockfalls.

Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory of 3.2 million people, is located between two active tectonic plates, the North American plate and the Caribbean plate, and tremors are frequent. But the island has been hit by a series of unusually strong earthquakes since just after Christmas.

The largest earthquake ever recorded on the island was the 1918 San Fermín earthquake, a 7.1 off the northwest coast that sparked a tsunami that killed 116 people.

Florida Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott sent a joint letter, along with Puerto Rico's resident commissioner in Washington, Jenniffer González, asking the president to approve a disaster declaration for the island. "Puerto Rico local agencies are taxed to their limits by their fiscal condition and the continuing larger recovery effort," the lawmakers said in their letter.

Vázquez said she had not heard from President Donald Trump personally on Tuesday morning, but was in communication with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and had activated the U.S. National Guard. In a statement, the White House confirmed Trump was briefed on the earthquakes and federal authorities are in communication with the local government.

In her appeal for residents to remain calm, Vázquez said the local suicide crisis hotline had experienced a spike in calls on Tuesday morning and urged people in need of support to call 1-800-921-0023.

"We are a resilient people," she said of the most recent disaster. "This has been our turn once more."

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