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Magnitude-5 earthquake rattles Puerto Rico

A pizza restaurant sits in rubble on January 29 after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in Guanica, Puerto Rico, earlier in the month. Photo by Jorge Muniz/EPA-EFE
A pizza restaurant sits in rubble on January 29 after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in Guanica, Puerto Rico, earlier in the month. Photo by Jorge Muniz/EPA-EFE

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A magnitude-5 earthquake rattled Puerto Rico on Tuesday, the latest in hundreds of temblors to plague the island territory over the past month.

The epicenter of the quake was about 13 miles southeast of the town of Guanica, the U.S. Geological Survey said. A 3.6-magnitude aftershock followed shortly afterward.

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There were no reports of injuries or damage.

More than 500 earthquakes of at least a 2-magnitude have hit Puerto Rico since late December. The strongest, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake Jan. 7, killed one person and caused damage to roads, bridges and power plants. A school in Agripina Seda collapsed and an iconic natural stone formation arch in Guayanilla known as Punta Ventana, or Window Point, fell.

President Donald Trump declared a major disaster on the island Jan. 16. The declaration allows the federal government to channel funding for recovery efforts from the temblors, which began Dec. 28. The money will be available for the municipalities of Guánica, Guayanilla, Peñuelas, Ponce, Utuado and Yauco.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar also declared a public health emergency Jan. 8, making services available to Medicare, Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program recipients.

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