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Jan 8, 2020 - Science

In photos: Puerto Rico in state of emergency after back-to-back quakes

Rebecca Falconer
: A view of damages at Guanica town after 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Puerto Rico on January 7

A damaged street in Guanica town after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Puerto Rico, Jan. 7. Photo: Alejandro Granadillo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

President Trump approved Wednesday Puerto Rico's request for a federal disaster declaration following a series of earthquakes this week that killed at least one person and displaced about 2,000 people, according to Disaster Relief.

What's happening: Gov. Wanda Vázquez declared a state of emergency Tuesday after two earthquakes measuring magnitudes of 6.4 and 5.8 struck. The quakes have caused widespread power outages on the island, which is still struggling to recover from 2017's Hurricane Maria. Aftershocks have continued to shake the island.

A woman and her baby niece camp out at a playground in Guanica.
A woman and her niece camp out at a playground in Guanica. Thousands of people have been sleeping outside, "fearing new tremors," the New York Times reports. Photo: Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
A man carries a St. Jude statue from the Inmaculada Concepcion church ruins that was built in 1841 and collapsed after an earthquake hit the island in Guayanilla
A man carries a St. Jude statue from the ruins of Inmaculada Concepcion church, built in 1841, in Guayanilla. Puerto Rico Seismic Network estimates some 45 quakes of magnitude 3 or higher have hit the island since Tuesday. Photo: Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
Damage at Guanica town after 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Puerto Rico
Damage in Guanica on the south of the island, which bore the brunt of the quakes, per the U.S. Geological Survey. Photo: Alejandro Granadillo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A group of young men play cards in the outdoors lit by a solar rechargeable lamp after an earthquake hit the island in Guanica, Puerto Rico
People use light from a solar rechargeable lamp to play cards. About two-thirds of the island was without power Wednesday and many had no access to drinking water, CNN notes. Photo: Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
A view of damages at Guanica town after 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Puerto Rico
Guanica Mayor Santos Seda said the quakes destroyed approximately 50 homes and at least 100 others were "about to collapse" Wednesday, CNN reports. Photo: Alejandro Granadillo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Two firemen survey a collapsed building after an earthquake hit the island in Guanica, Puerto Rico
Firefighters survey a collapsed building in Guanica. Schools have canceled classes until buildings are deemed safe by authorities, the BBC reports. Photo: Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
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