Puerto Rico

Earthquakes In Puerto Rico

By Rhobie Toussaint

Since Hurricane Maria in 2017, parts of  Puerto Rico are still in a state of devastation. The death toll reached just over 2,000 people; the agricultural yield has a loss of about 780 million dollars, and there are people still emigrating from Puerto Rico to the U.S. due to the state of the island. 

Now, another kind of natural disaster has hit the struggling island— earthquakes.

The earthquakes in Puerto Rico have left homes leveled, caused the displacement of  residents with nowhere to go, and lead to one known death. The island has been experiencing consecutive earthquakes, and Puerto Ricans have been experiencing their effects since December. 

“Personally, it’s been devastating seeing the people of Puerto Rico struggling with the many disasters that have been happening lately. Knowing they just suffered from a horrible hurricane that destroyed their homes and communities, many people probably don’t have the strength to go back to shelter,” said Jean Laguerre, the President of MLEC’s Caribbean Culture Club. 

These earthquakes have had magnitudes as high as 6.4, which was the magnitude of an earthquake in January that took place in Puerto Rico. Records show that these earthquakes resulted in about 5,000 Puerto Ricans to be unable or unwilling to return to their homes, meaning that many are without shelter. 

“What’s happening in Puerto Rico is extremely unfortunate. They were just starting to recuperate after hurricane Maria when the first earthquake hit. My family home on the island is in shambles and there’s nowhere for my relatives to go,” said Krystal Alverio, a Puerto Rican student at MLEC. 

Places such as the Poinciana Condominium in Puerto Rico, which includes medical, commercial, and residential floors, have become officially uninhabitable because of the structural damage. 

As a result of this, the Puerto Rico’s governor, Wanda Vasquez declared a state of emergency. 

The residents in  Puerto Rico are in desperate need of aid to restore their homes, and access other resources and necessities. But the country is not receiving all of the help it needs.  

Recently, there has been a video of a warehouse full of unused supplies which, according to Vasquez, has been there since Hurricane Maria. The video went viral, causing residents to take matters into their own hands by breaking into the warehouse and distributing the supplies themselves. 

The governor fired the commissioner of the National Emergency Management and Disaster Relief Agency, who claims he has not deprived anyone of accessing the supplies in the warehouse.

   After the earthquakes in January, Wanda Vasquez requested aid from the U.S., as Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. The Trump administration, however, has imposed multiple conditions on Puerto Rico, and these conditions must be met before the island can access 8.3 billion dollars.

“After Hurricane Maria, congress has since approved $44 billion for recovery from the federal department housing and health. However, the people from the Island have had access to only $2 billion up to this month,” said Jean Laguerre.

 The officer of management, Chase Jennings, says this is to hold Puerto Rico accountable while helping them.  

Some parts of Puerto Rico have recovered, especially areas where tourists visit and stay. But for the most part, there are still people living on the streets who are begging for help, homes that haven’t been restored, and people yet to receive aid. 

“I visited the more touristy parts of Puerto Rico and while I was there I saw two people one had a sign that said something along the lines of, “I lost my home to hurricane Maria, I need a place to stay. It was sad to see because there was someone begging for a home next to booths that  tourists are visiting,” said Samantha Jimenez, a student at MLEC.

“It’s sad to see that years later, they have never really recovered and that the island has turned to covering that up to pretend that nothing is going on and people can visit,” added Jimenez.