×

News publications and other organizations are encouraged to reuse Direct Relief-published content for free under a Creative Commons License (Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International), given the republisher complies with the requirements identified below.

When republishing:

  • Include a byline with the reporter’s name and Direct Relief in the following format: "Author Name, Direct Relief." If attribution in that format is not possible, include the following language at the top of the story: "This story was originally published by Direct Relief."
  • If publishing online, please link to the original URL of the story.
  • Maintain any tagline at the bottom of the story.
  • With Direct Relief's permission, news publications can make changes such as localizing the content for a particular area, using a different headline, or shortening story text. To confirm edits are acceptable, please check with Direct Relief by clicking this link.
  • If new content is added to the original story — for example, a comment from a local official — a note with language to the effect of the following must be included: "Additional reporting by [reporter and organization]."
  • If republished stories are shared on social media, Direct Relief appreciates being tagged in the posts:
    • Twitter (@DirectRelief)
    • Facebook (@DirectRelief)
    • Instagram (@DirectRelief)

Republishing Images:

Unless stated otherwise, images shot by Direct Relief may be republished for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution, given the republisher complies with the requirements identified below.

  • Maintain correct caption information.
  • Credit the photographer and Direct Relief in the caption. For example: "First and Last Name / Direct Relief."
  • Do not digitally alter images.

Direct Relief often contracts with freelance photographers who usually, but not always, allow their work to be published by Direct Relief’s media partners. Contact Direct Relief for permission to use images in which Direct Relief is not credited in the caption by clicking here.

Other Requirements:

  • Do not state or imply that donations to any third-party organization support Direct Relief's work.
  • Republishers may not sell Direct Relief's content.
  • Direct Relief's work is prohibited from populating web pages designed to improve rankings on search engines or solely to gain revenue from network-based advertisements.
  • Advance permission is required to translate Direct Relief's stories into a language different from the original language of publication. To inquire, contact us here.
  • If Direct Relief requests a change to or removal of republished Direct Relief content from a site or on-air, the republisher must comply.

For any additional questions about republishing Direct Relief content, please email the team here.

As Quakes Rocked Puerto Rico, Impromptu Communities Formed

Evacuees like those at Los Indios, in Guayanilla, cooked together, sang together, and cared for one another for weeks.

News

Puerto Rico Earthquake 2020

A mobile clinic from the organization VOCES positioned at the Los Indios camp in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico. Evacuees lived at the camp for more than two weeks, working together and receiving care at a mobile health outpost organized by Direct Relief. (Direct Relief photo)
By Talya Meyers

When a 6.4-magnitude temblor rocked Puerto Rico, Minerva Rodriguez was already sleeping in her tennis shoes.

Rodriguez, a pastor at Iglesia Pentecostal de Jesucristo in Yauco, said that, after smaller quakes began to cause damage to the southern part of the island, she wanted to be prepared in case something worse happened.

Rodriguez and her husband headed straight for their car and drove to a site they’d chosen in advance. Neighbors saw them on the move and followed.

That exodus was the beginning of what became an approximately 280-person tent camp in Los Indios, a neighborhood in the southern Guayanilla municipality, where a number of buildings, including a church, were damaged.

Minerva Rodriguez, a pastor in Yauco, Puerto Rico, sits in front of her church that was damaged during recent earthquakes on the island. Rodriguez was one of the community leaders that helped establish outdoor communities as aftershocks continued. (Photo by Alejandra Rosa Morales for Direct Relief)
Minerva Rodriguez, a pastor in Yauco, Puerto Rico, sits in front of her church that was damaged during recent earthquakes on the island. Rodriguez was one of the community leaders that helped establish outdoor communities as aftershocks continued. (Photo by Alejandra Rosa Morales for Direct Relief)

The camp became an impromptu community – an outdoor shelter where evacuees of all ages cooked together, sang together and cared for one another for more than two weeks. A nurse who was among the evacuees kept track of blood pressure and other health issues.

A number of the people at Los Indios had fled houses that, while only slightly damaged, no longer felt safe.

“They did not want to return to their homes in case another big earthquake happened,” said Ivonne Rodriguez-Wiewall, a senior advisor in Puerto Rico for Direct Relief, who brought a team to the camp to provide medical supplies.

“What was amazing was that they didn’t know each other but they all worked together,” said Laura Domenech, a pediatrician at Clinica del Sur, which sent a mobile unit to the camp from Ponce to provide medical and mental health care.

Dr. Domenech was particularly struck by a woman who was brewing coffee for other evacuees, using a car battery connected to an inverter. “I’ll never forget her,” she said.

Los Indios wasn’t the only temporary community that cropped up after a series of earthquakes damaged structures and distressed residents, many of whom experienced lasting depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress after Hurricane Maria hit in 2017.

Instead, Dr. Domenech said, she came across several communities after Los Indios where Puerto Ricans had banded together – in open places a safe distance from trees and electrical lines – to care for one another.

This wasn’t the case when Maria hit, according to Dr. Domenech: During the hurricane, people primarily sought out established shelters. But the suddenness of the earthquakes – the strongest to strike Puerto Rico in a century forced people to move quickly to find safety. “The earthquake is something that was new to all of us,” she said.

In addition, during the earthquakes, Dr. Domenech explained, some didn’t trust that the official shelters would stand up to the shaking. “What is good for Maria is not good for an earthquake,” she said.

At Los Indios, Rodriguez, the pastor, acted as the community’s informal leader, rising before dawn to prepare coffee, care for evacuees, and plan for community needs. “I couldn’t stop thinking about ways to help my neighbors, our elders,” she said.

After a few days, help – including supplies and medical care – began to arrive. Direct Relief organized a mobile health outpost, with health care providers checking in on chronic health conditions and providing psychological support.

As aftershocks continued, medical suppplies were distributed for evacuees in earthquake impacted communities, including Los Indios and Yauco, pictured here, where a shelter was established by Puerto Rico's National Guard. (Ana Umpierre/Direct Relief)
As aftershocks continued, medical supplies were distributed for evacuees in earthquake impacted communities, including Los Indios and Yauco, pictured here, where a shelter was established by Puerto Rico’s National Guard. (Ana Umpierre/Direct Relief)

What the people at the camp most needed, Rodriguez said, were mental health providers. “We were all scared,” she said. “When you are scared, you cannot be OK.”

Despite the uncertainty of the situation, Rodriguez-Wiewall and Dr. Domenech were impressed by the sense of calm and community they found.

“Kids were playing around while some adults rested. Others were chatting or playing cardboard games,” Rodriguez-Wiewall recalled. “They [were] all a big family.”

“They knew about other people’s needs, and they would make sure that I went to that person and nobody was left behind,” Dr. Domenech said.

The camp has since disbanded, as the earthquakes grew milder and people began to return to their homes. But Rodriguez is proud of the improvised group effort she headed.

“We built a community,” she said simply. “Our needs were met.”

– Alejandra Rosa Morales contributed additional reporting from Puerto Rico.

Filed Under: , , , , ,

Giving is Good Medicine

You don't have to donate. That's why it's so extraordinary if you do.