Earthquake rattles Puerto Rico

Looks like the Caribbean area is getting pretty busy. First Haiti, now Puerto Rico.

Earthquake rattles Puerto Rico

A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck Puerto Rico early Sunday morning, the United States Geological Survey said.

The USGS placed the epicenter of the quake near the city of Moca, in the northwestern end of the island.

Officer Guidiberto Torres Valle with the Moca Police Department said some parts of the city lost power, but service was quickly restored.

The Municipal Hospital in the city of Cayey treated a woman suffering from anxiety caused by the earthquake but no other injuries.

Araceli Vega, a nurse in the hospital, told CNN that she was treating a patient when she felt the building rattle, followed by a short moment of fear and confusion.

Is this just a precursor to future activity?

I hope not. Poor Puerto Rico is so small I'm not sure how it would fare if there are more and bigger ones to come.

It woke me up at like 1 in the morning.. I didn't feel that much, just slight tremors... but I don't know how well we'd sustain a stronger earthquake..

At the wee hours of the morning, I heard a loud noise. I was wide awake so I felt the whole thing. There was a noise, then the shake. It was not too bad. There was a second louder sound. Sort of like a locomotive then there was the large shake. It was not too bad just scary that there might come a large one.

The island really is rather small. We would not fare too well in a larger earthquake.

I once read that Puerto Rico is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, registering many smaller quakes under the 4.0 range.

I've been to Puerto Rico several times, but am yet to experience, or recognize, any rumbles.

My guess is that PR will continue to experience their share of quakes and would not be surprised if another quake similar in magnitude to Sunday morning's occurs in the near-future.

I am wondering why this earthquake is getting so much press. It was all over the Sunday news shows. Puerto Rico gets tons of earthquakes between 1-4 all the time! Sure, a 5.7 is a bit stronger than normal, but it is certainly not rare nor unheard of!

I can understand quakes over 6.5 being mentioned, but it seems since the Chile and Haiti quakes the news will report anything.

Originally posted by nydsdan
I am wondering why this earthquake is getting so much press. It was all over the Sunday news shows. Puerto Rico gets tons of earthquakes between 1-4 all the time! Sure, a 5.7 is a bit stronger than normal, but it is certainly not rare nor unheard of!

I can understand quakes over 6.5 being mentioned, but it seems since the Chile and Haiti quakes the news will report anything.

erm isnt that a good thing?

i mean personally i want them to report any earthquake just to keep me updated, it is news.

oh wait i just realised you only want them to report quakes where people die!

Originally posted by nydsdan
I am wondering why this earthquake is getting so much press. It was all over the Sunday news shows. Puerto Rico gets tons of earthquakes between 1-4 all the time! Sure, a 5.7 is a bit stronger than normal, but it is certainly not rare nor unheard of!

I can understand quakes over 6.5 being mentioned, but it seems since the Chile and Haiti quakes the news will report anything.

We don't get tremors we can actually feel. More like 1 or 2 pointers. I have lived here in Puerto Rico all my life and we had never felt anything close to this. The whole island shook. Ok, ok that is not saying an awful lot considering the size of the island. But still, it actually is pretty rare.

It's not Haiti or Chile though that is true.

I lived in PR for several years and never felt any eqs. My son's family is all from Moca. He'll have to call his sis on VRS and see it things are OK.
Most of the eqs are on the ocean floor, not under the land.