Photo courtesy of Kiss Clipart
BY MAEVE BRADY ’20
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit the southern coast of Puerto Rico on the morning of Jan. 7, killing one person and injuring at least eight others. Homes and buildings collapsed, bridges cracked from the tremors and economic losses are estimated to be more than $110 million in damages. Over 700 homes have been affected and nearly 8,000 people have relocated from their damaged houses to outdoor camps, sleeping under tents rather than within the destroyed or dangerously unstable walls of their homes. These numbers could rise as aftershocks continue to hit the island.
This has been the most damaging earthquake in Puerto Rico since the 1918 San Fermín quake, which measured 7.1.
Puerto Rican Governor Wanda Vásquez Garced declared a state of emergency the same day that the recent quake occurred, as tremors triggered blackouts that left millions without power.
The Jan. 7 earthquake came amidst a swarm of earthquakes that began on Dec. 28, 2019 and are ongoing. The most recent hit on Jan. 25 and measured a 5.0 magnitude. This swarm has been, geologically speaking, unusual for the island. Puerto Rico sits at the intersection of the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates, so fault lines abound. However, according to Professor Michelle Markley of the Mount Holyoke geology department, “the major geologically active part of Puerto Rico is the Puerto Rico trench, which borders the north of the island.” Therefore, the occurrence of earthquakes on the southern side is, while not impossible, more unexpected. The earthquakes are also very shallow, says Markley, which makes them easier to feel on the surface.
While Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on the power grid’s distribution and transmission lines in 2017, this earthquake hit hardest on the southern coast, where most of the island’s power generation plants are located. The Costa Sur power plant, which accounts for over a quarter of Puerto Rico’s electricity, could be out of commission for more than a year.
The damage caused by the earthquake has been exacerbated by the delay of federal aid following Hurricane Maria; of the $20 billion that was promised by the Department of Housing and Urban Development after the hurricane, residents of Puerto Rico have only seen $1.5 billion.
Many homes that suffered severe damage in 2017 were still waiting on relief funds from Maria when the earthquake hit. In addition, tensions have been high since a warehouse filled with unused disaster supplies was discovered, much of it expired and dated to Hurricane Maria. Public outrage at crucial supplies like propane tanks, cots and water bottles having gone undistributed for so long has led to widespread protests.
Yarimar Bonilla, co-editor of a book about the lingering effects of Hurricane Maria, “Aftershocks of Disaster,” told the Washington Post, “we were lied to. Puerto Ricans feel like they can’t trust anything around them and don’t know where to turn for reliable information ... There is an atmosphere of perpetual uncertainty produced not just by Mother Nature, but also the government.”
President Trump approved a major disaster declaration for over a dozen municipalities in Puerto Rico, though he did so more than five days after the government of Puerto Rico requested aid. In comparison, the declaration for Hurricane Maria was issued the same day that the storm hit.
José Caraballo-Cueto, an economist and a professor at the University of Puerto Rico, said, “natural phenomena don’t have to become disasters. But here, they become disasters because of the decisions and actions of a few human beings.”
This article has also been translated in Mandarin .