HARTFORD – Residents in Puerto Rico woke up to another earthquake Saturday morning. This one had a magnitude of 5.9.
This comes after the island endured a series of earthquakes this week.
“Like we’re praying and praying and nothing’s happening,” said Grace Marie Cruz of Meriden.
Cruz woke up to news of her island being rattled by another strong earthquake followed by a phone call from her family as they were desperate for help.
“I have family. I have sisters and she’s crying, the kids are crying too because it’s not stopping and more around one morning, it’s so crazy and my family that lives over there too, they be texting me oh my God, it’s another earthquake,” added Cruz.
The island has been impacted by tremors throughout the week, including a 6.4 magnitude quake Tuesday that killed at least one man, destroyed homes and left many residents in the dark.
Just when most of the residents got their power back, they lost it again when Saturday’s quake unexpectedly hit.
FOX61 was able to speak to some passengers at Bradley International Airport who just flew back from San Juan.
“I was walking from the bathroom to my room and I couldn’t hold onto nothing. I was like in the air. I tried to hold myself and I hear some glasses falling down.”
Daniel Amici witnessed the damage firsthand.
“We lose power, we lose it for a maximum of a week. You know, over there, they lost power for months at a time. It’s not really done around here so … just prayers out to them,” said Amici of Waterbury.
Amid the earthquakes, Governor Wanda Vazquez declared a State of Emergency and activated the Puerto Rico National Guard.
Gloria DeJesus found out from her family there, people are now homeless.
“The people are sleeping in the park. It’s bad. The streets, the highway,” said DeJesus of Meriden.
Since December 28, about 500 earthquakes of magnitude 2.0 or higher have hit the island which is still recovering from Hurricane Maria in 2017.
“You can tell that they haven’t gained the aid they need. They still need like 18 billion that’s been frozen they just can’t get from Maria and most of the buildings are still damaged from Maria and aren’t prepared for earthquakes,” said Eli Carani of Hartland, Vermont.
One tragedy after another – a time for Puerto Ricans to once again be a support system for one another.
“It’s still picking up the pieces and this is probably going to make it harder a little bit but it’s okay a minor setback. We as Puerto Ricans and Spanish people, we always end up getting ourselves together,” said Noel Fermin of Hartford.