5.8-magnitude quake damages homes
GUÁNICA (AP):
A 5.8-MAGNITUDE quake hit Puerto Rico before dawn yesterday, unleashing small landslides, causing power outages and severely cracking some homes. It was one of the strongest quakes yet to hit the United States (US) territory that has been shaking for the past week.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The quake was followed by a string of smaller temblors, including another quake measured at magnitude 5 that struck later Monday, at 10:51 a.m. (1451 GMT), shaking power lines and frightening residents of southern Puerto Rico who had been waiting outside their homes due to fears that the buildings were damaged and unstable.
The first quake struck at 6:32 a.m. (1032 GMT) just south of the island at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (six miles), according to the US Geological Service. There was no tsunami threat, officials said.
COLLAPSE
In the southern town of Guánica, Mayor Santos Seda told the AP that five homes collapsed, but only one of them was inhabited. No injuries had been reported.
Another 29 homes were heavily damaged, he said.
Helicopters buzzed overhead, and terrified residents jumped up from their folding chairs every time the earth shook, yelling at others to stay away from power lines.
Few people dared go back inside their homes, but José Quiñones, 54, had no choice.
His 80-year-old mother had heart problems and was lying in bed.
Dozens of people in a neighbourhood called Hope in Guánica walked around with their phones and yelled out the magnitude of the latest earthquakes as they tried to calm children who were forced to open their presents on Three Kings Day, a religious holiday, on streets and sidewalks.
“This is hell,” said Alberto Rodríguez, 43, whose home collapsed on its side as the smell of gas filled the air. “We haven’t slept ... you can’t remain calm here. Guánica is no longer a safe place.”
One of the largest and most damaging earthquakes to hit Puerto Rico occurred in October 1918 when a 7.3-magnitude quake struck near the island’s northwest coast, unleashing a tsunami and killing 116 people.