From the BBC:
“Puerto Rico earthquake: Punta
Ventana collapses as powerful tremor hits”
A popular tourist rock formation
in Puerto Rico has collapsed after a strong earthquake shook the island,
damaging homes and causing power cuts. The stone arch, known as Punta Ventana,
was destroyed on Monday, when the earthquake hit. The 5.8-magnitude quake
struck at a depth of 6km (3.7 miles), off the Caribbean island's southern
coast. No tsunami alerts were issued and no casualties have been reported. There
were, however, reports of severe damage to buildings, landslides and widespread
power cuts after the earthquake, which struck at 06:32 local time (10:32 GMT). Pictures
of the aftermath, showing homes upended from their foundations and cars crushed
under buildings, were posted to social media. Among them was a picture of Punta
Ventana after it had collapsed into the ocean, near the southern town of
Guayanilla. A local told the Miami Herald that Punta Ventana was "one of
the biggest tourism draws of Guayanilla". "Playa Ventana has
collapsed. Today our icon rests in everyone's memory," Glidden López, a
press officer for Guayanilla council, wrote in a Facebook post. In an earlier
post, Mr López said the rock formation had been damaged by previous tremors in
recent days. Puerto Rico, a US territory of around 3.2 million people, has been
rattled by a series of earthquakes since 28 December. Monday's earthquake was
the strongest yet, the US Geological Survey said. Several aftershocks,
including a 5.1-magnitude quake more than four hours later, shook parts of the
island. Puerto Rico, situated between the North America and Caribbean tectonic
plates, is vulnerable to earthquakes, which have caused significant damage in
the past. The island is still recovering
from Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm that devastated parts of the Caribbean
in September 2017. In Puerto Rico alone, the hurricane is estimated to have
killed 2,975 people and caused $100bn (£75bn) of damage.
^ This is sad. The pictures from
before the collapse are really nice. ^
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51014588
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