A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck Puerto Rico before dawn on Tuesday, the largest in a series of quakes that have struck the U.S. territory in recent days and caused heavy damage in some areas.
Yesterday, a 5.8-magnitude rumble destroyed the island’s famed Playa Ventana rock formation.
A tsunami alert was initially issued for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, but Victor Huerfano, director of Puerto Rico’s Seismic Network, told WAPA TV that there is no risk of tsunami.
The Electric Power Authority reported an island-wide power outage.
The US Geological Survey said the quake hit at 4:24 a.m. just south of the island at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers. It initially gave the magnitude as 6.6 but later adjusted it.
The quake caused the collapse of a famous tourist attraction known as the Playa Ventana (left, before the quake) in Guayanilla. Residents shared photos of the top half of the natural wonder, also dubbed the Window Beach, which had completely broken off (right, after the quake)
Twitter users share their experience of the rumble in Puerto Rico this morning
‘It was super strong. I could hear the vibrations everywhere,’ one witness located nine miles from the epicentre posted on the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre website.
Terrified residents woke in pitch darkness when the shudders pounded through the island at 4.24 am local time.
Tsunami sirens rang out in Camuy on the north of the island, prompting citizens living near the water to head inland.
San Juan was plunged into darkness when the quake ruptured the electricity grid.
There were no immediate report of injuries or damage but the power outage made it hard to obtain information.
A 5.8-magnitude quake that struck early Monday morning collapsed five homes in the southwest coastal town of Guanica and heavily damaged dozens of others. It also caused small landslides and power outages. The quake was followed by a string of smaller temblors.
The shake collapsed a coastal rock formation that had formed a sort of rounded window, Punta Ventana, that was a popular tourist draw in the southwest town of Guayanilla.
Residents in the south of the island have been terrified to go into their homes for fear that another quake will bring buildings down.
Other residents shared their thoughts on the loss of the iconic formation
The flurry of quakes in Puerto Rico’s southern region began the night of December 28. Victor Huerfano, director of Puerto Rico’s Seismic Network, told the AP that shallow quakes were occurring along three faults in Puerto Rico’s southwest region: Lajas Valley, Montalva Point and the Guayanilla Canyon.
He said the quakes overall come as the North American plate and the Caribbean plate squeeze Puerto Rico.
One of the largest and most damaging earthquakes to hit Puerto Rico occurred in October 1918, when a magnitude 7.3 quake struck near the island’s northwest coast, unleashing a tsunami and killing 116 people.
One Twitter user wrote: ‘The lights went off and i thought my sister was moving the bed and an earthquake hit its been happening constantly here im shaking.’
Another said: ‘It wouldn’t stop and it kept getting stronger. All the car alarms are going off and we keep getting aftershocks.’
A third added: ‘That one was. STRONG and lasted a good minute. Strong smal aftershock after [sic]. Wow. In Caguas.’
Another witness in Caimital, 41 miles away, posted that the quake lasted around 30 seconds.
A 5.8-magnitude quake hit Puerto Rico before dawn Monday, unleashing small landslides, causing power outages and severely cracking some homes. This particular home was a two-story residence that collapsed onto two vehicles parked below it
Residents shared photos of the top half of the natural wonder, also dubbed the Window Beach, which had completely broken off.
It is known as Window Beach because the rock formation was raised above the ocean with a massive hole that gave the feeling of looking at the sea through a window.
Guayanilla press officer, Glidden López, wrote on Facebook: ‘The Window Beach collapsed. Today our icon is in everyone’s memory.’
Other residents shared their thoughts on the loss of the iconic formation.
‘This is something big to Puerto Rico today is the day playa ventana is gone for good. This place was famous in Puerto Rico until today because of an earthquake of 5.80,’ one person shared on Twitter.
The quake struck at 6.32am just south of the island at a relatively shallow depth of six miles, according to the US Geological Service. There was no tsunami threat, officials said
‘Something amazing was taken from Puerto Rico today,’ another shared.
Officials said the quake struck at 6.32am just south of the island at a relatively shallow depth of six miles, according to the US Geological Service (USGS).
There is no tsunami threat, but the USGS warned that the island should be ready for more earthquakes.
‘According to our forecast, over the next 1 Week there is a 4% chance of one or more aftershocks that are larger than magnitude 5.8,’ USGS said in a statement.
The agency said ‘it is likely that there will be smaller earthquakes over the next week’.
Monday morning’s quake unleashed landslides, caused power outages and severely cracked homes.
Power outages were reported in some parts of Puerto Rico following the quake, Angel Vazquez, emergency management director for the southern coastal city of Ponce, said
Power outages were reported in some parts of Puerto Rico following the quake, Angel Vazquez, emergency management director for the southern coastal city of Ponce, said.
The quake was one of the strongest quakes yet to hit the US territory that has been shaking for the past week.
‘This is one of the strongest quakes to date since it started shaking on December 28,’ he said. ‘It lasted a long time.’
Residents in southern coastal towns shared pictures of partially collapsed homes and large boulders blocking roads as officials urged people to remain calm.
Some residents also captured video of the damage, showing collapsed homes, downed power lines and cars maneuvering around boulders in the streets.
In the southern town of Guánica, Mayor Santos Seda said that five homes collapsed in the Esperanza neighborhood, but only one of them was inhabited. No injuries have been reported. Another 29 homes were heavily damaged, he said.
Clothing hangs to dry inside on the top floor of a home with a partially collapsed roof after an earthquake hit Guanica, Puerto Rico
Residents in southern coastal towns shared pictures of partially collapsed homes and large boulders blocking roads as officials urged people to remain calm. This photo shows a bedroom inside one of the damaged homes
Cars were crushed under a home that collapsed after an earthquake hit Guanica, Puerto Rico, on Monday
A youngster climbs into his aunt’s damaged home where the stairs into the living room collapsed after an earthquake hit Guanica, Puerto Rico, on Monday
Two men stand in front of a house that collapsed after a 5.8 earthquake hit Guanica, Puerto Rico on Monday
A man takes photos of a house damaged by the 5.8 earthquake in Guanica, Puerto Rico Monday morning
Residents are seen outside in a neighborhood where houses were damaged by a 5.8 earthquake in Guanica, Puerto Rico
Residents observe the damage caused by the magnitude 5.8 earthquake reported on the coast of Guanica, a municipality in the southwest of Puerto Rico
Residents recalled the moment the quake hit the area Monday morning.
Dr Sindia Alvarado, who lives in the southern coastal town of Penuelas, said she was petrified.
‘My entire family woke up screaming,’ she said. ‘I though the house was going to crack in half.’
At a hotel in the southwest coastal town of Guanica, people panicked as they tried to flee in their cars, only to realize that large boulders were obstructing the only highway heading north to the capital of San Juan, attorney Jose Francisco Benitez said.
‘There was a state of panic,’ he said. ‘There were even people in their underwear walking around the hotel.’
He said he and his girlfriend were in the room when the quake struck.
A house is seen collapsed on its foundation after Monday morning’s earthquake in Guanica, Puerto Rico
A Puerto Rican flag hangs from the porch of a home that collapsed on top of parked cars after an earthquake hit Guanica, Puerto Rico, Monday morning
In the southern town of Guánica, Mayor Santos Seda said that five homes (right, one home pictured) collapsed in the Esperanza neighborhood, but only one of them was inhabited. No injuries had been reported. Boulders caused the closure of some roads (left)
The flurry of quakes in Puerto Rico’s southern region began the night of December 28, with quakes ranging in magnitude from 4.7 to 5.1. Monday’s quake (depicted above) was one of the strongest quakes yet to hit the US territory that has been shaking for the past week
‘I have never felt anything like this,’ he said. ‘It was like a giant grabbed our room and shook it.
The flurry of quakes in Puerto Rico’s southern region began the night of December 28, with quakes ranging in magnitude from 4.7 to 5.1.
Previous quakes of lesser magnitudes in recent days have cracked homes and led to goods falling off supermarket shelves.
Victor Huerfano, director of Puerto Rico’s Seismic Network, said that shallow quakes were occurring along three faults in Puerto Rico’s southwest region: Lajas Valley, Montalva Point and the Guayanilla Canyon.
He said the quakes overall come as the North American plate and the Caribbean plate squeezes Puerto Rico, and that it was unclear when they would stop or if bigger quakes would occur.
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.