Puerto Rico was hit with an earthquake on Monday resulting in minor damage on the island. The Associate Press reports that there are reports of buildings swaying and items falling as far as San Juan, the capital, located 61 miles (98 kilometers) away from the quake's epicenter. Puerto Rico's emergency management agency has gone on record to say that, thus far, there are no injuries reported from the Puerto Rico earthquake. It was initially reported by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center that a tsunami could be triggered by the earthquake, but the U.S. National Weather Service Caribbean Tsunami Warning Program has confirmed that no tsunami was created from the quake.
Here are four things to know about the Puerto Rico earthquake: 1. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake struck right after midnight on Monday, Jan. 12, 2014. 2. The preliminary magnitude of the earthquake was 6.4 and there have been at least 70 aftershocks reported since. 3. The epicenter of the earthquake was 35 miles north of Hatillo. 4. The Puerto Rico earthquake is said to have taken place 17 miles (28 kilometers) deep and there are no reports of damage apart from a few power outages and cracked floors.
“All of Puerto Rico is in a seismic danger zone,” said said Gisela Baez Sanchez, a geologist with Puerto Rico’s Seismic Network, in a phone interview with The Washington Post. “We have to be prepared.” Most of the minor damage reported--broken windows, cracked floors and walls, and broken water lines -- were reported along the north coast of Puerto Rico, near and in the city of Bayamon. Despite the fact that there was no damage and no fatalities, Puerto Ricans have taken to social media to air their qualms with the government. Puerto Ricans are upset with the fact that no emergency plan was executed after the intial quake, but authorities have gone on record to state that had there been a tsunami warning, an emergency alert would have been sent.
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