Puerto Rico has continued to struggle with thousands of earthquakes since December

Posted by Christina Corujo, Victoria Mall-Ramirez, Diane Macedo, ABC News

(New York) – Amidst COVID-19 and drought, Puerto Rico has recorded more than 9,000 tremors in the past six months, according to a meteorologist’s summary.

The island’s seismic sequence started late last year. Since December 28, U.S. soil has not stopped reporting multiple earthquakes up to magnitude 6.

“He continues to vibrate and we do not know until when he will continue,” said Zuri Mendes, a community leader in the Bonus sector, “La Carmelita”.

Mendez, who has lived all her life in society, is now sleeping in a tent with her husband and 13-year-old daughter, for fear of another major earthquake.

“We cannot sleep … In the southern region of the island we do not sleep,” Mendes added.

The family home has a fragile infrastructure. During Hurricane Maria, her home suffered damage that led to a weak formation. Once a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck the island on January 7, the damage became noticeable. Some outdoor areas have cracks and have a large garage.

The Mendez family is afraid of the collapse of their house.

“If I lose my house, I will lose everything,” Mendes said. “I will live all my life in a tent.”

It has been more than a week since they decided to sleep in a tent next to their house. Although this is not the first time in the past six months, the family has searched for shelter outside their home, but they are concerned about the health consequences amid COVID-19.

The 51-year-old said: “With the epidemic they tell you, you cannot leave your home, but with the earthquakes they tell you, you must leave your home.”

The island faces a drought of about 140,000 people in the capital region with intermittent water service.

Mendes said she was not affected, because she usually gets her water from a rural system. However, as the island has experienced low levels of precipitation, it is concerned about running out of water if the forecast does not change.

The lack of basic needs relates to teacher Marilu Mayorga. She watched this story again and again through her non-profit project Island Corps, an initiative that focuses on educating children and providing them with the resources needed to build a stable life.

Days after the major earthquake, Mayorga was on her way to an earthquake camp to teach and entertain earthquake-affected children. On her arrival, she noticed that the children around her were looking for more.

“They need the basics,” said Mayorga, explaining that some children did not take a shower within four days. “It was kind of a picture you see in really poor countries.”

Over time, Island Corps found ways to help these kids, while providing them with their educational program. But everything changed when the epidemic struck and the organization was forced to stop the initiative. Island Corps was unable to resume their work due to COVID-19.

Puerto Rico has over 2,100 confirmed cases and over 6,500 potential cases, according to the island’s COVID-19 dashboard. But some Puerto Ricans questioned government data, after the Ministry of Health acknowledged irregularities in April.

Although the island has improved its monitoring process, epidemiologist Melissa Marzan said the island needs full transparency.

“We need access to the data,” she said.

Marzan said the island also needed an educational campaign “to strengthen prevention and ensure it is at the community level.”

Mendes has always reminded her community of the importance of taking measures to prevent any exposure to the virus. But she said the task was not an easy one as they fought all these crises on their own without government help.

“The government has not been effective,” said Mendez, frustrated. “It is a government that has been lying to us since Hurricane Maria.”

Last year, the Puerto Rican government was surrounded by multiple scandals, including the most recent of which included the island’s ruler. Wanda Vazquez faces a close examination after she sacked the island’s justice minister after calling the official to conduct an independent investigation into how aid was distributed in the aftermath of the January earthquakes.

ABC News contacted the governor’s office for a comment and received no response.

Despite the many struggles facing the “La Carmelita” community, the population is sure that with some support, they can overcome all challenges.

“If they give us a little help, we will count the rest,” Mendez said.

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