Puerto Rico Jolted By 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake
On Monday morning, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook the entire island of Puerto Rico, causing power outages and major damage to homes.
According to the US Geological Survey, its epicenter was recorded around 6:32 a.m. at a shallow depth of 6 miles off the coast of the Caribbean island, 8 miles south of Indios, the agency said. It’s the latest in a string of earthquakes to hit the island’s southern region over the past several days.
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Angel Vazquez, who is the Emergency management director for the city of Ponce, 17 miles east of Indios, told The Associated Press that the shaking from Monday’s quake “lasted a long time.” “This is one of the strongest quakes to date since it started shaking on Dec. 28,” he said, ABC News quotes.
NBC notes that there was no tsunami threat, or any casualties had been reported. However, people had been forced outside of their homes, and afraid to go back inside. Meanwhile, thousands of residents lost power after the earthquake-affected some of the electrical substations in the area.
Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced urged people to stay composed in a tweet,
“Citizens must remain calm and have their action plans prepared to protect themselves,” Garced wrote on Twitter.
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