Since December, tremors have been wreaking havoc in Puerto Rico on a daily basis. The first earthquake left more than 8,000 people living in outdoor shelters, and experts predict that both the number of tremors and displaced people will continue to rise. Wendy Bohon, earthquake geologist at Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), commented in National Geographic that aftershocks will likely continue to affect the region because “there’s a lot of complicated tectonics happening in a really close area.” Puerto Rico sits on the edge of the Caribbean tectonic plate, an active plate boundary zone with complex geology because it is essentially being “squashed in a tectonic battle,” according to Bohon.
More recently, the southern coastal town of Guayanilla experienced a 5.0 magnitude earthquake on Saturday, Dec. 25. This quake joins six others of a magnitude of 5 or higher that have also struck the island, including Puerto Rico’s most destructive quake in a century with a magnitude of 6.4 on January 7. The latest tremors have collapsed homes and schools, knocked out power in some regions, triggered landslides, and have severely damaged hundreds of structures. At least one death has been reported so far, and there is growing concern for the ways in which the already shaky infrastructure could be further devastated, and for the thousands of people living in shelters after being evacuated from their homes.
These earthquakes come at a time where communities are still recovering from the devastation of hurricanes Irma (2017) and Maria (2017), with Maria being one of the worst natural disasters on record to hit Puerto Rico. These hurricanes and earthquakes are not disastrous because they are “natural,” but because of structural inequalities that are already in place. The “disaster” of Maria was produced in part through the political and economic decisions (or lack thereof) made by the United States. The culmination of weak infrastructure and widespread neglect on the part of the United States resulted in minimal disaster relief, with unacceptable delays in government aid that made it impossible for the island to recover from Maria.
Recently, the fact that much of Puerto Rico remained overlooked, and without power or drinking water for more than a week after Maria has been brought to the surface once again. While dealing with the effects of the relentless earthquakes, a warehouse filled with supplies (believed to be from when hurricane Maria hit) was discovered on the weekend of Jan. 18. Among the supplies were pallets of water, boxes of emergency supplies, food, diapers, baby formula, cots, and more. Carlos Acevedo (director of Puerto Rico’s Office of Emergency Management) was promptly dismissed by Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced upon the unearthing of the warehouse and its contents. Acevedo is being heavily criticized for its existence and alleged concealment from the people of Puerto Rico. He has denied the allegations of mishandling and claims that the agency has been actively distributing supplies, that no residents have been denied supplies in the warehouse, and that the pallets remain there due to expiration. In a statement addressing the controversial intentions and contents of the warehouse, governor Garced commented that “there are thousands of people who made sacrifices to bring aid to the south and it’s unforgivable that resources have been kept in a warehouse.”
While initially reported to be from Hurricane Maria, the purpose of the supplies has yet to be confirmed, and acustations of mismanagement are currently being investigated. According to Acevedo’s replacement, Maj. Gen. José J. Reyes, officials in Puerto Rico began distributing the Hurricane Maria supplies on Monday, Dec. 20. As the earthquakes continue to devastate Puerto Rico, so will the lasting effects of the seemingly forgotten past natural disasters, until treatment and disaster relief are allocated where they are due. Or in this case, long overdue. •
