‘BIG ONE’ FEARS
Puerto Rico earthquake destroys iconic arch Punta Ventana and sparks fears ‘biggest quake in a century’ is overdue
PUERTO RICANS awoke in shock today as an earthquake hit the island, the biggest in a series of quakes that have struck in the last week.
The 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck the U.S. territory just before 6.30am on Monday, according to the U.S. Geological service.
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There was no threat of a tsunami and no immediate reports of casualties, officials said.
However, the quake sparked concerns from locals who believe they’re due for the “biggest quake in a century” — after a quake in 1918 killed 116 people.
Monday’s earthquake struck on the island’s southern region at a shallow depth of just over 6 miles.
There was no threat of a tsunami and no immediate reports of casualties, officials said.
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Power outages and small landslides were, however, reported, and prompted local crews to close some roads along Puerto Rico’s southern coast.
An iconic stone arch, Punta Ventana, collapsed in the quake. A local named Denniza Colon said she went to the location that housed the arch on Monday and saw it was gone.
“This is really sad,” she . “It was one of the biggest tourism draws of [the municipality of] Guayanilla.”
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A local emergency management director said the earthquake “is one of the strongest quakes to date since it started shaking on December 28.”
The official, Angel Vazquez, told The Associated Press: “It lasted a long time.”
A series of earthquakes have shaken the island’s southern region since just over a week ago, ranging from 4.7 to 5.1 in magnitude.
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One of the largest and most damaging earthquakes to strike Puerto Rico was in October 1918, when more than 100 people were killed.
The 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit the territory’s northwestern coast and unleashed a tsunami with waves up to 20 feet high, the Puerto Rico Seismic Network.
Aftershocks were apparently felt “for up to nine months” following the quake — and one that happened less than two weeks later “was strong enough to knock down more buildings.”
Now, more than a century later, locals fear they’re overdue for the “biggest quake in a century.”
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Local doctor Sindia Alvarado said her “entire family woke up screaming” and that she thought her house “was going to crack in half.”
Another local, Jose Francisco Benitez, told the AP people quickly panicked and realized large boulders were obstructing the only highway heading north, to the capital of San Juan.
“There was a state of panic. There were even people in their underwear walking around the hotel,” he said. “I have never felt anything like this. It was like a giant grabbed our room and shook it.”
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Puerto Rico lies in a fault zone and the shallow quakes were occurring along three faults in Puerto Rico’s southwest region: Lajas Valley, Montalva Point and the Guayanilla Canyon.
The director of Puerto Rico’s Seismic Network, Victor Huerfano, said the quakes overall come as the North American plate and the Caribbean plate squeezes Puerto Rico.
He added it’s not clear when the earthquakes would stop — or if bigger quakes would come.
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