'Thought House Was Going To Fall': Roxborough Native Among Many Jarred By 6.4 Earthquake In Puerto Rico
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Another powerful earthquake rocked Puerto Rico, leaving at least one person dead and the island in a state of emergency. A young Roxborough native who is in Puerto Rico visiting, was among those jarred by the pre-dawn earthquake.
"This morning, we woke up at 4:20 screaming," Alexis Adams said.
The 21-year-old was one of many tourists and residents jolted out of their sleep after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit the island of Puerto Rico just before dawn.
"Everything was shaking, I felt like my body was shaking, we were shaking," Adams said. "I thought the house was going to fall down."
Adams is in Salinas, Puerto Rico, staying close to the beach.
The Roxborough native, along with her boyfriend and his mother, Maria Setzler, scurried to a safe zone after a tsunami warning was issued.
Setzler moved back to the island three months ago.
"The earthquakes, they do come pretty often. We do get them frequent, not as strong as this one this morning," she said. "Since September, I've been through four earthquakes but this is the first one that I've actually felt."
"We got up and moved out of town really quick because we're like five minutes away from water," Adams added.
While the Salinas area was spared any significant damage, the town of Guayanilla did not escape the destruction caused by the earthquake.
Many residents found themselves trapped in their homes. Some homes were reduced to rubble, crushing cars underneath.
"My power in my room here in Old San Juan is out," one person said.
The power company cut power to the entire island just as a precaution.
It's the second earthquake in as many days with a 5.8 magnitude quake hitting the day before. The United States Geological Survey says Puerto Rico's seismic activity is occurring along three faults on the island's southwest region.
Adams is riding out the power outage on the beach.
"I did want to go home right away when it happened, but now I feel a lot calmer and at ease, so now I want to stay and enjoy the rest of it," Adams said.
Nerves are still frayed as many on the island are still trying to pick up the pieces of their lives.
For those traveling, American Airlines says there are no impacts to scheduled operations within their networks at San Juan's airport.
Nonetheless, the airline is in the process of issuing a travel notice allowing customers to alter travel plans, without incurring any charge fees.
