Puerto Rico Earthquakes Assessment

Event

Puerto Rico’s southern shore has been rocked by hundreds of earthquakes since December 28, 2019, with the largest being a 6.4 on January 7, 2020. These quakes have caused significant damage to their energy supply, estimating a disruption in the Island’s electrical grid over the next year. Temporary shelter and power needs are expected to extend through 2020’s hurricane season.

While the epicenter of these quakes was typically around 8 miles offshore south of Guanica. These events were felt across the island and caused major structural damage to buildings in the region. One elderly man was killed in Ponce from a collapsing structure and 8 others were also injured. Electrical power was lost island-wide immediately after the 6.4 quake and was slowly restored across most of the island however the Costa Sur Power Plant near Ponce suffered extensive damage. This plant accounted for around 25% of the islands electricity and its repairs are estimated to take over a year to complete.

The Puerto Rican government opened 28 shelters around the SW region however tens of thousands of people camped outside of their homes or in impromptu camps due to fear of further structural collapse and some previous shelter locations being deemed structurally compromised from the quakes. Weeks later people remained in the camps, suffering from PTSD in fear of returning to their homes.