January 7, 2020 Earthquake: Ponce,san Juan, Puerto Rico, US Territories

Ref #13456:

One person killed and 8 injured at Ponce. Widespread damage and landslides blocked roads in southwestern Puerto Rico. Power and water outages occurred throughout the island. Damage estimated at 3.1 billion US dollars. Yauco, PR, US - CDI: 8; Guayanilla, PR, US - CDI: 8; Ponce, PR, US - CDI: 7; Penuelas, PR, US - CDI: 7; Ensenada, PR, US - CDI: 7

Tectonic Summary

The January 7, 2020, M 6.5 earthquake offshore of southwest Puerto Rico occurred as the result of oblique normal faulting at shallow depth. Preliminary focal mechanism solutions for the earthquake indicate faulting occurred as the result of slip on either a moderately dipping plane striking just north of west, or on a moderately dipping plane striking just west of south. At the location of this event, the North America plate converges with the Caribbean plate at a rate of about 20 mm/yr towards the west-southwest. The location and focal mechanism solution for the event are consistent with an intraplate tectonic setting within the lithosphere of the Caribbean plate, rather than on the plate boundary between the two plates.

The preliminary location of this earthquake is within about 12 km of the January 6, 2020, M 5.8 earthquake. Over the past several weeks, hundreds of small earthquakes have occurred in this same region, beginning in earnest with a M 4.7 earthquake late on December 28 and a M 5.0 event a few hours later. Since the M 4.7 event, over 400 M 2+ earthquakes have occurred in this region, 11 of which were M 4+, including today's M 6.5 event and the January 6th M 5.8. The proximity of these events to Puerto Rico, and their shallow depth, mean that dozens of these events have likely been felt on land, though with the exception of the M 5.8 earthquake and the latest M 6.5, none are likely to have caused significant damage.

Tectonics in Puerto Rico are dominated by the convergence between the North America and Caribbean plates, with the island being squeezed between the two. To the north of Puerto Rico, North America subducts beneath the Caribbean plate along the Puerto Rico trench. To the south of the island, and south of today's earthquake, Caribbean plate lithosphere subducts beneath Puerto Rico at the Muertos Trough. The January 6 and 7 earthquakes, and other recent nearby events, are occurring in the offshore deformation zone bound by the Punta Montalva Fault on land and the Guayanilla Canyon offshore.

Ref #12628:

A more modern facility, the privately owned EcoElectrica plant built in 2000, was also damaged during the earthquake.

Though only one person was directly killed by the earthquake, at least three people have died of apparent heart attacks that may be related to the temblor's effects, local officials said on Friday.

Ref #12620:

Three hundred homes were destroyed and another 1,390 damaged by the quake.

Ref #12603:

The figures on affected homes have not yet been made public, although unofficially it is estimated that there are damages, at least, in 3,000 homes evicted due to collapse or risk of collapse.

As for the figures of damages there is no agreement, since the governor maintains, for the moment, that of 110 million dollars, while the most affected municipalities speak of figures that for the whole of the southwest would exceed 400 million dollars.

Ref #12704:

Southwest Guayanilla Bay dropped 0.2 meters, causing permanent flooding of low areas

Ref #1250:

800 million USD damage, 4 deaths, 8 injured

Ref #13727:

1 death, 8 injured, $1.45 billion in economic losses

Note: damaging magnitude 5.9 (Mw) event on 11 Jan 2020 :12:54, 17.949 N 66.851 W