Human losses A male resident of
Urbanización Jardines del Caribe, in the city of
Ponce, lost his life as a direct result of the January 7 quake; additionally, eight other people in the area were injured. A woman died of a heart attack in the town of Guayanilla, after a 4.36-magnitude overnight aftershock occurred, on the night of January 9 into January 10. By January 10, two additional people had died of different medical conditions, attributed to the effects of the earthquakes.
Homeless There were refugees in 28 government-sponsored refugee centers in the southern and central Puerto Rico municipalities of Yauco, Guánica, Ponce, Peñuelas, Guayanilla,
Utuado,
Maricao,
Juana Díaz,
Adjuntas,
Sabana Grande,
San Germán,
Lajas,
Jayuya and
Mayagüez. At least three residential high-rise buildings in Ponce were rendered unusable, leaving the residents homeless. On January 13, it was reported that some 3,000 homes had been destroyed or significantly damaged. By January 14, the number of homeless region-wide had climbed to 8,000. A January 15, 2020, register of homes rendered uninhabitable listed at least 789 properties. The number of homes with some level of damage was, however, significantly higher. For example, according to its mayor, in the municipality of Yauco alone, there were 3,200 homes with some degree of damage. Numerous authorities pointed to the emotional toll on the people, particularly on entire families who had been left homeless.
Physical damage displaced by the earthquakes The January 7 quake destroyed numerous structures, including the Agripina Seda Elementary School in Guánica and the
Inmaculada Concepción Church in Guayanilla. Also severely damaged by January 7 quake were the
La Guancha Recreational and Cultural Complex, which was made inoperable and where 24 establishments had to shut down their operations, and
Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns. The Moscoso Building of the
Ponce City Hall was also damaged. In Ponce both historic and modern buildings were damaged. Among these were
Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe,
Museo de la Masacre, Iglesia Evangélica (northwest corner of C. Unión and C. Vives);
La Gloria store on
Paseo Atocha,
Hotel Ponce Plaza, Condominium Ponciana on C. Marina, and
Darlington Building, also on C. Marina. The damage forced the closing of several downtown streets. Guanica and Yauco were particularly impacted. The
Guanica lighthouse was among the highly damaged buildings in there. Additional damage throughout Puerto Rico included the
Arecibo Observatory, which had already been damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Of high concern was the structural damage suffered by school buildings throughout the island. For example, the José Julián Acosta Theater Arts School in San Juan was deemed partially unusable due to structural safety concerns, with classes being moved to the nearby
Carnegie Library temporarily. The January 11 aftershock inflicted further damage. Among the structures damaged by this aftershock were the
Ponce Servicios municipal government building,
Museo de la Masacre de Ponce,
Residencia Armstrong-Poventud, On January 11, Ponce alone had sustained an estimated $150 million in damage. Financial losses were calculated at US$3.1 billion.
Public infrastructure fell off (top right corner of the right tower) from one of the towers of the
Ponce Cathedral due to quake activity There was no electricity in Ponce and in most of Puerto Rico on Tuesday, January 7, the day of the 4:24 am earthquake. "More than 250,000" residents island-wide were left without water and another half a million had no power. Among damage to infrastructure, the 5.9 aftershock quake the morning of January 11 created a crack in a bridge, and was expected to delay restoration of power. The Costa Sur Power Plant, which provides a quarter of the island's power, had sustained "destruction on a grand scale" Road damage due to landslides included Puerto Rico highways
PR-132,
PR-139, and
PR-218. PR-2 had landslides in the area of
Peñón de Ponce;
PR-9, a 4-lane highway under construction, had damage that set back the opening date several months; and
PR-52 had damage to its Ponce toll booth plaza. Among bridges damaged were two on
PR-127 in Guayanilla, at kilometer markers 9.1 and 10.3. ==Aftermath==