A 4.5-magnitude earthquake hit Puerto Rico on Thursday in the latest of a rare string of quakes that has frightened many in the U.S. territory. The most recent quake occurred eight miles south of Guayanilla at a shallow depth of four miles and was felt in the capital of San Juan and elsewhere in Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. No immediate damage was reported.
"We haven't stopped shaking," said Ángel Vázquez, emergency management director for the southern coastal town of Ponce.
"It's the first time something like this happens."
The flurry of quakes began the night of December 28, with a 4.7-magnitude quake followed by a 5.1-magnitude one that hit near Puerto Rico's south coast and sent dozens of panicked people into the streets. Goods fell off supermarket shelves, cracks in homes were reported in some coastal towns, and a large rock fell and blocked a road. No injuries were reported.
Since then, more than 1,100 earthquakes have occurred in that region. The majority have not been felt, except for the 4.2-magnitude one that hit December 31 and the one on Thursday.
"I've spent 29 years with Puerto Rico's Seismic Network, and it's the first time I observe this kind of activity," director Víctor Huérfano told
The Associated Press. "There's no way to predict when it's going to end, or if it's going to lead to a major event."
Comment: Hmmm. This could have been the result of some hi-tech response by the 'deep state/Usual Suspects' to Iran's ballsy response to the American assassination of Soleimani... or it could have been the cosmos itself chiming in on the portentous events afoot in that region.