Cars, cots and plastic chairs became temporary beds for hundreds of families who lost their homes in southwest Puerto Rico as a flurry of earthquakes struck the island, one of them the strongest in a century.
The magnitude 6.4 quake that struck before dawn on Tuesday killed one person, injured nine others and knocked out power across the U.S. territory, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans remained without electricity early Wednesday.
Among them was 80-year-old Lupita Martinez, who sat in the dusty parking lot with her 96-year-old husband by her side. He was sleeping in a makeshift bed, a dark blue coat covering him.The couple was alone, lamenting that their caretaker had disappeared and was not answering their calls. Like many Puerto Ricans affected by the quake, they had children in the U.S. mainland who urged them to move there, at least until the earth stops shaking.
More than 950 quakes and aftershocks have been recorded in the area of Tuesday night's event since Dec. 31, though most were too weak to be felt, according to U.S. Geologic Survey. Psychologists met with Guilbe and dozens of other people affected by the earthquakes, going door-to-door on Monday in affected neighbourhoods and then visiting people in shelters on Tuesday. Among them was Dayleen Ortiz, who set up a speaker on the roof of her car to blast uplifting salsa music and provided crayons and paper to children and urged adults to shake their fears.One young girl tapped Ortiz on her leg repeatedly: "I want to play beautician," she said.
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