Quake-stunned Puerto Rico hit by another 6.0-magnitude shock

A magnitude 6.0 shock hit Puerto Rico on Saturday morning as the island’s residents were already reeling from a series of major quakes this week, including one on Tuesday that was the biggest in a century.

The latest quake at around 9 a.m. local time has caused even further damage, mainly in areas around the southern coast where hundreds of homes and schools had already collapsed from the Tuesday temblor that had a magnitude of 6.4.

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics

Saturday’s quake also left roughly 5,000 customers without power, according to the island’s power authority.

Witnesses said the temblor caused concrete debris from damaged buildings to topple into the streets, mainly around the southern area.

The Morning Rundown

Get a head start on the morning’s top stories.

Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey, said that the 6.0 magnitude quake is considered an aftershock along with several other 5.0 magnitude aftershocks overnight.

“The one this morning is the strongest one” since the big earthquake on Tuesday.

Hundreds of quakes and aftershocks have shaken the island since the new year, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.

While the epicenter of the latest quake was centered off island’s southern coast, its tremors were felt as far north as San Juan. People in the island’s capital city felt a temblor that lasted about between 10 and 15 seconds, with little to no damage immediately reported.

Thousands of people across the island, mainly in southern towns, have been sleeping outdoors since the big earthquake on Tuesday.

Many people whose homes have collapsed or fear their houses could crumble with another aftershock have sought refuge in government-run outdoor shelters. Others take their beds to the sidewalk to sleep outside their home until dawn.

Several others have moved with other relatives in towns further away from the most affected areas.

So far, at least one person has died and nine others have been injured as a result of the seismic activity.

This is a breaking story; check back for updates.