‘There Was No Warning’: Puerto Rico Braces After Second Quake

Jan. 7--GUAYANILLA, Puerto Rico -- Hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans remained in the dark Tuesday evening, hours after a powerful predawn earthquake tore up roads throughout the southwestern coast, damaged electrical generators and forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes.

The strongest in a string of quakes that have shaken the island since Dec. 28 was a 6.4 magnitude earthquake that hit off the southern coast at 4:24 a.m. Tuesday, briefly sparking a tsunami alert. Since then, the U.S. Geological Survey reported dozens of small quakes and aftershocks in the same area, including a magnitude 6.0 at 7:18 a.m.

At least one person, a 73-year-old resident of Ponce, died as a result of Tuesday's earthquakes. One of the major highways in the southern part of the island was blocked by rockfalls and was starting to reopen by Tuesday evening.

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

"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 amid the uncertainty. Long lines formed at gas stations and supermarkets, where Puerto Ricans sought to prepare despite government authorities assuring 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 all schools on 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 create their own emergency plans. "It's not like a hurricane where we can prepare, that we can see it coming... you have to be prepared."

As the day came to an end, about 75 percent of the island remained without power, the director of the electric utility told a local radio station, though authorities declined to say how many households were affected. Attempts to power up three mega-generators at one of the island's main electric power plants reportedly failed throughout the afternoon.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, dealing with a fragile grid still reeling from Hurricane Maria's devastation in 2017, did not say when energy would be fully restored. But in a tweet, the utility assured that technicians were working to restore power in the greater San Juan area overnight.

Over a quarter of residents on the island also did not have running water, Vázquez said.

Hundreds evacuated from their homes

The coastal city of Guánica was among the hardest hit by the earthquakes. Mayor Santos Seda said 148 homes were damaged or destroyed, along with a handful of commercial establishments and two schools.

Despite the extensive damage there were only minor injuries and no deaths in the city.

Seda said that since Dec. 28 city officials have been holding meetings and blaring instructions from a truck, trying to convince residents who lived in vulnerable houses to leave.

"It worked and I'm proud of that," he said of the campaign. "It was also due to the grace of God."

Structural engineers were evaluating damaged homes in southern towns, which had already suffered damage from an earthquake on Monday.

Ruben Rodriguez Quiles, 48, said he abandoned his home after a large earthquake on Monday left it partially damaged. Tuesday's earthquake "finished the job," he said.

"My house is gone. There are no walls or roof," he said. "If I'd been home I wouldn't be talking to you right now."

Rodriguez planned to spend Tuesday night outside with more than 200 people camped beside the Guánica coliseum, which had been turned into an emergency shelter. People had been sleeping inside the sports complex this week until lights and bricks fell during the latest earthquake. At least 346 people had sought shelters in stadiums and other locations along the island's southwestern coast.

But even staying outside, Rodriguez said he felt vulnerable.

"Everywhere I go I feel nervous," he said, as aftershocks jolted the city every few minutes. "It's like we're walking on a giant cracker and you never know when it's gong to break open and swallow you.... It's like the entire island is sitting on top of an atomic bomb."

The second and third floors of one school in the town of Guánica crumbled over onto the 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 resume some time next week. She said they have not been inspected since after Hurricane Maria in 2017.

'Shocking' damage to a Guayanilla church

At the central plaza in Guayanilla -- also along the southern coast -- people had gathered to look at the ruins of the Catholic church. Its long side walls had given way, revealing views of the altar and pews inside.

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

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

"So many generations have gone to 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.

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 most destructive 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."

On an island long used to hurricanes, the earthquake left many feeling blindsided.

Elizabeth Mercado Martinez, 65, said she woke Tuesday morning to pictures of her hardware store, Elimermar, on social media. The front wall had collapsed, sending metal and bricks onto the street. Soon, a brigade of friends and neighbors were helping her move cans of paint, nails and hammers to another location.

Martinez said that since her store lost its roof during Hurricane Maria she hasn't been able to get insurance. In business since 1990, Martinez said she wasn't sure if she could rebuild.

"At least with Maria I could put a tarp on the roof and keep working," she said, as she smoked a cigarette. "With this... I don't know."

Seda, the mayor, said that when Maria hit his city, everyone in the community knew it was coming, and had time to prepare, gather supplies and sleep.

"This was worse than Maria," he said. "With this earthquake there was no warning...it was like a low blow."

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