Puerto Rico also felt a strong tremor last December

Shaken that at 5: 35 minutes from this morning struck the Dominican Republic, is to remember that you ago, 17 days, on 17 December, in the nearby Puerto Rico also spread the alarm when an earthquake of 5.1 degrees originated 22 kilometers from the island's West Coast

After the tremor was noted as a weakness the fact that the majority of electric generators and the capital airport are located in areas prone to flooding in the case of tsunami.

Tremor, which caused the downfall of objects in cities in the West and was felt in the capital, reopened in the Puerto Rican public debate if the neighboring island is prepared in front of a large magnitude earthquake like those that have affected her every hundred years since the 17TH century.

At that time the director of the seismic network of Puerto Rico, Victor orphan, told the EFE news agency, said u000athe Government has a plan of response in case of earthquake.

According to EFE, orphan recalled that the last strong earthquake was in the year 1918, 7.4 degrees on the Richter scale, killed 140 people and generated a tsunami with waves over 6 meters of height.

The official stated that although the State Agency for the management of emergencies and disasters (Aemead) works in the implementation of preventive measures, the almost all of the generators of Puerto Rico are located in areas potentially flooded.

"That means that in the event of a tsunami Puerto Rico would be totally in the dark", indicated an orphan, for whom San Juan airport is one of the infrastructures that would be flooded if an earthquake of great magnitude and the consequent tsunami scruff island.

"Puerto Rico is not located in a very seismically active area as countries such as Japan or Chile, but even so is" u000a"ready for an event of this nature", said the official.

With regard to these measures, he stressed that the Government has a plan of response to such situations, although he admitted that he is not as developed as in the countries previously mentioned.

Should "be improved", said the director of the seismic network, body which according to the press of Puerto Rico has a meager economic allocation and is also located in a modest structure reminiscent of a small rural house Puerto Rican.

Orphan explained that you as part of the preparation in case of earthquake, 19 of a total of 44 coastal municipalities of the island have already received official recognition of "Tsunami ready", which grants the national weather service to the towns prepared to successfully overcome such phenomena.

The director of the Aemead, Heriberto Saurí, justified only about half of the coastal municipalities have u000areceived such recognition by the lack, said, "earthquake consciousness" that there is still in Puerto Rico.

Also said that the Caribbean island has directed traditionally more efforts to prepare against hurricanes and storms, usual for several months a year in Puerto Rico.

The municipalities which have the recognition of "Tsunami ready" have emergency telephone systems 24 hours a day, sirens to alert the population, and the capacity to carry out a plan of response to earthquakes.

The earthquake which caused uncertainty among the population occurred during the early morning of Saturday 17 December more than 20 km from Mayagüez, town on the coast West.

Puerto Rico, as well as the earthquake of 1918, suffered another in 1867, accompanied by a tsunami, little more than 7 degrees on the Richter scale which claimed the lives of 30 people.

The island suffered on May 30, 1987 u000aan earthquake of 4.6 on the Richter scale in Boquerón (Northwest Coast), the last in which there were considerable material damage, although they did not regret victims.

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