A letter from Michelle Muñiz

Dear partners, 
May the peace of God be with you all.
 

As many of you may know, since December 28, the south region of Puerto Rico has been registering seismic activity. It was not until January 6 that a 5.8 earthquake hit. The next morning, at 4:24 a.m., a 6.4 earthquake, with an epicenter in the same south region, was felt island-wide. Aftershocks are still happening with less intensity; however, many are felt everywhere in Puerto Rico. After the 6.4 earthquake, the island went into a complete blackout. Today, there are still communities without power. Some Puerto Ricans compare this emergency to Hurricane Maria’s aftermath, others are assuring this is even worse.

Our Presbyterian Churches across Puerto Rico, alongside many other denominations and non-profit organizations, have been getting together and collecting donations and supplies. Presbytery of San Juan and Presbytery of the Northwest are supporting the Presbytery of the Southwest, taking supplies, donations and hot meals to the affected areas. This past weekend there was a Presbytery drive at each church in the San Juan region, and donations should arrive in one of our churches in Guánica by today. 

Here are some numbers, counting only 4 municipalities in the south:

In terms of people in shelters:

These numbers are extremely hard to share. We can only imagine the despair of the families still wondering how they will start all over. We continue to work alongside the Presbytery of the Southwest discerning in ways to support communities affected.

Later on, I will share details about volunteer projects regarding earthquake recovery response; however, because the seismic activity continues we still don’t have any worksite directly related to this. We continue to host volunteers to work on hurricane recovery through our all our PDA host sites in San Juan, Dorado, Añasco, San Sebastián and Aguada. For more information about registering your group please contact PDA.CallCenter@pcusa.org.

I can’t thank you enough for the support given after Hurricane Maria through donations, volunteering, phone calls, text messages during every storm warning, and messages of love after hearing about the earthquakes. 
If you want to contribute to the recovery efforts through the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (hurricane or earthquake) go to this link.

You can also read an article here about PDA Staff visit to affected areas after the earthquake this week, and watch an TV Newscast interview with PDA Staff, Rev. Jim Kirk.

Peace, 
Michelle Muñiz
Disaster Recovery Coordinator / Coordinadora de Recuperación de Desastres
Presbiterio de San Juan
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA)