An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck the south coast of Puerto Rico on January 7, 2020 at 4:24 a.m., leaving the entire island without electrical service; causing structural damage to thousands of residential homes; and leaving at least one dead. It was followed by three replicas with preliminary magnitudes of 5.6, 5.2 and 4.5 respectively and, by 7:18 a.m. of the same day, an additional replica of even greater intensity: 5.8.
More than 8,000 people had to resort to refuges while another undetermined amount were left with no choice but to sleep under tents on the streets, yards and other open spaces in fears of more replicas.
The series of earthquakes that shook the southern region of Puerto Rico started on the night of December 28, 2020 and has continued until today with over 12,000 registered seismic events.