PEÑUELAS, Puerto Rico — It’s one thing to see it on the news, Jeannie Calderin said, it’s another to live through it.
That’s how Calderin described experiencing the magnitude 5.0 earthquake that struck Tuesday morning off Puerto Rico’s southwest coast.
“It was a hard one,” she said. “First you hear a sound—like something is roaring—then everything starts to shake.
“I just froze.”
Calderin arrived in Puerto Rico on Monday. She’s there with other volunteers with the non-profit Somos Puerto Rico Tampa and the Course of Action Foundation delivering relief supplies to people on the island who’ve been displaced for weeks because of thousands of earthquakes and aftershocks.
Since the end of December, more than 2,000 quakes and aftershocks have rattled the island, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The strongest yet, a magnitude 6.4 quake that struck Jan. 7 killed one person, destroyed buildings and left roughly two-thirds of the island without power.
Calderin said she’s seen many people still sleeping in tents, either because their homes have been damaged or they’re too afraid to be inside if another quake hits.
“People here, you can see their faces, they’re desperate,” she said. “They don’t know when this is going to stop.”
For many, it’s become the new normal. But for Calderin and her fellow volunteers, it’s become a call to action.
“I’m glad I was able to bring all the things but I have a sadness in my heart knowing people are going through this,” she said. “It’s just devastating.”
Calderin will return to Tampa on Thursday but she says her non-profit will continue to collect monetary donations to purchase supplies for future trips. Click here if you’d like to donate.
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