Stunning before-and-after pictures show the collapse of a spectacular rock formation in Puerto Rico as 2 major earthquakes hit the island
Screenshot/YouTube; Getty Images
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One of Puerto Rico’s best-known tourist attractions collapsed, and one man was killed, amid a series of earthquakes that have hit the Caribbean island this week.
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Puerto Rico was hit by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake on Monday and a 6.4 magnitude quake on Tuesday.
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One man has been killed and a further eight injured, according to the Associated Press, while the whole island has lost power.
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The destruction included the collapse of Punta Ventana — a stone arch formation popular with tourists.
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Photos show a stunning before and after of the arch, with the top of the formation collapsed after the quake.
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A famous stone arch formation in Puerto Rico was destroyed Monday during a week of earthquakes in the Caribbean.
The well-known tourist attraction, known as Punta Ventana, collapsed Monday after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the southern coast of Puerto Rico.
“Playa Ventana has collapsed. Today our icon rests in everyone’s memory,” a press officer for the council of the Guayanilla region, where the stone formation was located, said in a Facebook post.
After the arch’s collapse, Puerto Rico on Tuesday was rocked by an even more powerful earthquake, which registered a 6.4 magnitude.
One man was killed and a further eight people were injured by Tuesday’s earthquake, according to the Associated Press.
As well as the collapse of the famous arch, homes collapsed, and cars were wrecked by the two seismic events.
Before the earthquake Punta Ventana was a popular tourist attraction and looked like this.
YouTube/News Today AzThe top of the arch collapsed, however, after Puerto Rico was hit by the 5.8 magnitude earthquake on Monday.
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty ImagesThe Guánica lighthouse, another landmark in Puerto Rico, suffered damage as a result of the earthquake.
(Photo by RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images)The lighthouse was built by the Spanish in 1892, and though the tower survived, one of the walls collapsed, as can be seen below.
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images
Source: NBC News
Tuesday’s earthquake, which struck near the city of Ponce on the southern part of the island, was the most powerful of a series of earthquakes in recent days.
REUTERS/Ricardo OrtizAlbert Rodrigues, a resident of Guánica, reported tsunami sirens going off, which he said officials later canceled.
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images
Source: The Guardian
This home in Guánica collapsed and was surrounded by the bricks that formerly held it up.
REUTERS/Ricardo OrtizResidents whose homes were destroyed remained outside on the streets or went to shelters to avoid further danger from aftershocks or damaged buildings.
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images
Source: The Associated Press
Mayor María Meléndez told the local newspaper El Nuevo Día that a 73-year-old man in the southern city of Ponce was confirmed dead.
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images
Meléndez said the man died after a wall fell on him in his home, according to the BBC, which cited El Nuevo Día.
Source: BBC, El Nuevo Día
An island-wide power failure was announced by the Electric Power Authority after two power plants were damaged.
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images
Source: Time, the Associated Press
“I’ve never been so scared in my life,” Nelson Rivera, a 70-year-old resident in Ponce, told the AP.
REUTERS/Ricardo Ortiz
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