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MORE RECENT EVENTS (2020 Onwards)

2020 Hurricane Season Forecast with Ada Monzón and Roberto García, NWS San Juan, Puerto Rico

Meteorologists Ada Monzón and Roberto García explain through a live broadcast interview the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season forecast and urge the public to prepare accordingly, with additional considerations associated to two additional extreme events affecting Puerto Rico, namely the 2019-2020 southwestern seismic sequence and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ada Monzon, YouTube, May 21,2020

Risk and Resilience Against the 2020 Hurricane Season Forum

Special forum on resilience celebrated by the EcoExploratorio, where a multi-hazard team on resilience against extreme natural events discusses the challenges in the preparation for the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season while also confronting earthquake, tsunami and pandemic hazards in Puerto Rico. Speakers include:

  • Ada Monzón, meteorologist and moderator of the event
  • Nino Correa, Director of Operations of the Bureau of Emergency Management
  • Christa vin Hillebrandt, Director of the Caribbean Tsunami Program
  • Pablo Méndez, Dr. Juan C. Reyes and R. Elba Díaz, from the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus

Ada Monzon, YouTube, May 3, 2020

2019-2020 EARTHQUAKES

Sea Water Inundates El Faro Neighborhood, Guayanilla, Due to Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake

Due to the magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurring in southwestern Puerto Rico, the landmass around the Guayanilla Bay sunk by approximately 0.2 meters / 8 inches, and with it a coastal neighborhood named El Faro. Houses, streets and the beach, formerly barely above sea level, are now covered by shallow water.

Ada Monzón/Noticentro, YouTube, February 11, 2020

Agripina Seda School in Guánica, Following Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake

Drone / UAV footage showing the Agripina Seda School in the urban area of Guánica, to the southwest of the Island. This school building collapsed following the failure of the columns supporting each story. Due to the timing of the earthquake, before morning and still during the Christmas holiday period, no occupants perished nor were injured.

Pedro Cruz, YouTube, January 10, 2020

Rock Fall in highway PR-2 in Ponce, along El Tuque neighborhood

News report showing a rock fall caused by the magnitude 6.4 earthquake striking southwestern Puerto Rico, which obstructed the seaside portion of primary highway PR-2, located to the west side of the city of Ponce. Police officers closed passage along the road segment until clean-up efforts could be conducted.

WAPA TV, YouTube, January 7, 2020

Punta Ventana, Puerto Rico’s natural wonder, collapses after 5.8-magnitude earthquake

Drone / UAV footage showing Punta Ventana, Guayanilla, a rock arch formed by coastal erosion over the centuries, both before and after its collapse following a magnitude 5.8 earthquake affecting southwestern Puerto Rico.

JodielPR/8 News NOW Las Vegas, YouTube, January 7, 2020

Earthquakes Hit Puerto Rico Two Days in a Row

News footage showing damaged and destroyed houses following the earthquakes on January 6 and 7, 2020, in the municipalities to the southwest of Puerto Rico.

VOA News, YouTube, January 7, 2020

Earthquake in Puerto Rico

Collection of video clips showing the effects of the 2020 southwest Puerto Rico earthquakes, described and ordered by initial time-stamp.

0:00: earthquake shaking visible inside a house, no apparent damage visible

0:40: hill experiences a landslide, getting the attention of on-lookers

0:48: employee of a fast food restaurant breaks in tears upon entering the premises, witnessing extensive damage at the facilities

1:29: interior view of a house which did experience earthquake damage, with toppled furniture, x-shaped cracking in a load-bearing wall

2:29: view inside a supermarket, where an employee checks for possible propane gas leaks and records all kinds of merchandise knocked off the store shelves

CNC Florida Central, YouTube, January 11, 2020

ISLAND-WIDE COASTAL EROSION EVENTS 2018-2019

Coastal Erosion, Rincón Loses Sand and Beaches

Throughout the decades, the coastal and touristy municipality of Rincón, in the western side of the Island, has confronted the combination of seaside construction, sea level rise and extreme marine weather, culminating in Hurricane Maria. As a result, the width of the beach strip has decreased at an average rate of 1 meter / 3 feet per year, resulting in heavy damage and collapse of luxury real estate buildings placed in the area. Municipal authorities in Rincón are developing a Land Use Plan to re-define the maritime zone as a strip 150 meters wide, starting at the shoreline, and in which the planned retreat and hard engineering options are being compared for implementation.

Aquí en la Fila, YouTube, February 11, 2018

Puerto Rico sinks!!! Beaches in danger of disappearing

This two-part news report tells about the Islandwide challenge of beach erosion in Puerto Rico. Over the years, aerial image research from the Planning School of the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras has identified long-term beach erosion trends related to sea level rise and coastal area urban developments. This problem was further aggravated with the extreme marine weather associated to Hurricane Maria, on top of the seasonal winter storm surges which also erode beach areas. These effects have far-reaching economic and social disruption impacts, as the loss of beaches represents the degradation of one of the principal attractions for tropical island tourism.

Cronicas del Cafe, YouTube, January 25, 2019

Hurricane Maria (September 2017 onwards)

Añasco is a disaster zone

Footage showing the immediate damages and initial community-led emergency response and recovery efforts in the urban area of Añasco, western Puerto Rico.

Jolsun, YouTube. December 16, 2017

A year after Maria: remembrance of police officers who perished when dragged by the Culebrinas River

Special report from the WOLE 12 news channel, re-telling the events of Héctor Luis Matías Torres and Ángel Lorenzo González, state police officers who were returning from their shift. They were part of a patrol convoy which attempted to cross the floodplain of the Culebrinas River, between the municipalities of Aguadilla and Aguada (northwest Puerto Rico) while the river overflowed its banks following the passage of Hurricane Maria. Their patrol car was dragged by the current into the floodwaters.

WOLE 12, YouTube. September 19, 2018

Bridge in Añasco during Hurricane Maria!

Short video showing the bridge of highway PR-430 during the Hurricane Maria flood conditions. This bridge connects the Espino and Ovejas neighborhoods of eastern Añasco (western Puerto Rico), at the start of the floodplain of the Añasco River.

José Rosado, YouTube. September 15, 2019

Camino Nuevo, Yabucoa After Hurricane Maria 360

Video showing highway PR-901 from the municipality of Yabucoa towards Maunabo (southeastern Puerto Rico), following the passage of Hurricane Maria. Visuals, in a 360 degree camera format, show damage sustained by buildings, infrastructure and vegetation as a result of the land falling south side of the eye wall.

Paraíso PR, YouTube. October 9, 2017

Hurricane Maria Punta Santiago beach Humacao

Video showing the coastal community of Punta Santiago, on the municipality of Humacao (southeast Puerto Rico), as the effects of Hurricane Maria were intensifying prior to the eye’s landfall.

Josue Castillo, YouTube. November 7, 2017

Hurricane Maria Río La Playita Morovis

Video showing the bridge of highway PR-155 over the Río Grande de Manatí in the inland municipality of Morovis, as seen from La Playita restaurant.

Orvil Diaz, YouTube. November 28, 2017

Before and After: Puente de La Gallera, Ciales

Drone / UAV video comparison showing the bridge of highway PR-145 over the Río Grande de Manatí in Ciales (central Puerto Rico). Floodwaters from Hurricane Maria removed almost all of the bridge structure, only leaving parts of the abutment structures on either side of the water body.

Puerto Rico Desde el Aire, YouTube. December 4, 2017

Guayanilla River overflows during Hurricane Maria

Video showing the floodwaters of the Guayanilla River in the urban area of the southwestern municipality of Guayanilla, specifically along the Luis Muñoz Rivera Street (PR-127) in the vicinity of the town square. Muddy and fast-flowing floodwaters carry debris, most notably a tree.

Alfredo Lugo, Hector Rivera Figueroa, YouTube. October 28, 2017

Hurricane Maria: Impactful Video, Toa Ville Community, Toa Baja

Two videos showing the effect of Hurricane Maria in the Toa Ville community, in the municipality of Toa Baja. Footage from the first part shows the floodwaters of the La Plata River around their peak extent, covering the streets and yards of the houses, along with a cow struggling to escape the flood conditions. The second part shows another street where wind damage and debris are also visible along with floodwater impacts.

Janet Colon, YouTube. December 7, 2017

Coamo River: View from Zambrana, Hurricane Maria

Video showing the Coamo River as seen from the Zambrana neighborhood in the urban area of Coamo, near the peak of the floods associated to Hurricane Maria. The area shown contains a park, whose facilities, including a basketball court and a gazebo, are almost entirely submerged in the floodwaters.

Julio O, YouTube, December 11, 2017

9-22-2017 Arecibo to Dorado Hurricane Maria aftermath helicopter Puerto Rico landmarks

Collection of video clips depicting various portions of the north coast of Puerto Rico two days after the passage of Hurricane Maria, going from west to east. Municipalities shown (validated with aerial imagery) include Quebradillas (0:00), Camuy (0:55), Hatillo (2:16), Arecibo (3:12), Barceloneta (9:26), Manatí (10:09), Manatí (10:09), Vega Baja (11:02), Dorado (12:28), and all the way to the boundary with the municipality of Toa Baja (14:15). Along the way, different types of damage can be seen, including defoliated vegetation, debris, fallen utility lines, flooded areas, sand deposited by waves and storm surge and limited activity along the roads and streets.

Live Storm Media, YouTube, September 23, 2017

La Plata River floods the town of Comerío

Video showing the middle course of the La Plata River across the mountain town of Comerío, where the extreme precipitation of the hurricane made it overflow its banks, encroaching the row of city blocks closest to its watercourse. NOAA reported precipitation totals of up to 37.9 inches (963 mm) in the upper course of this river.

Solmary Nieves Nieves, YouTube, January 2, 2018

Hurricane Maria – El Maní, Mayagüez

News report on El Maní, a coastal village in the northwest part of Mayagüez. This community confronted the combined effects of storm surge, river flooding, rain and wind impacts associated to Hurricane Maria, leaving damaged houses and belongings, and even portions of highway PR-64 and adjacent residences washed away due to the effects of the hurricane’s erosion impacts.

jrvw2, Cristal Laracuente, Noticentro, YouTube, October 26, 2017

Hurricane Maria in Arecibo

Video footage showing the Magallanes street in the urban center of Arecibo, where floodwaters of the nearby Grande de Arecibo river entered the streets and left residences with their first floor partially submerged. Residents can be seen seeking shelter in roofs and second levels, while cars parked in garages and along the street can be seen fully submerged.

luislegarreta, YouTube, November 4, 2017

OLDER EVENTS (Before August 2017)

Hurricane Georges ‘98

Footage of Hurricane Georges, which traversed Puerto Rico on September 22-23, 1998. The recording took place in the Dos Bocas hydroelectric power plant, located at the Arecibo-Utuado municipal border, with initial footage on the afternoon of the 22nd and later footage on the morning of the 23rd. The main effect observed from the video is the extreme flooding from the rainfall of the Arecibo river basin, which flowed through the spillway of the Dos Bocas dam, and the cameraman expresses worry on the situation downstream of the dam.

carlequin, YouTube, June 5, 2014

Flooding of the Greater Manatí River in Ciales during Hurricane Irene (3)

View of the bridge of highway PR-145 at La Gallera bridge over the Río Grande de Manatí in Ciales (central Puerto Rico). Floodwaters in this event reached close to the top of the bridge piers, but the bridge did not sustain unrecoverable damage as a result.

Horhe Ruis, YouTube, September 5, 2011

Crossing the Fajardo River in a Hummer

Footage of a military vehicle entering highway PR-53 in the municipality of Fajardo, specifically the area flooded by the Fajardo River as a result of the rains of hurricane Irene, which was yet to make landfall in Puerto Rico.

Turey219, YouTube, August 22, 2011

Flooding in Highway PR-129, July 22nd, 2013, Víctor Rojas, Arecibo, Puerto Rico

Two-part footage showing the Víctor Rojas neighborhood in the city of Arecibo while it experienced urban flooding from an extreme rain event not associated to tropical cyclones. Visible flood impacts include obstruction of passage to vehicles, movement of belongings and waste material by the floodwaters and the possibility of water damage to residences and businesses in the area.

Danny Cint., YouTube, August 22, 2011