SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Puerto Ricans are living in fear after hundreds of earthquakes rocked the region, according to a San Diegan with family there.
Tommy Rosas last lived on the island when he was 14. Though he moved to the mainland, Puerto Rico never left him.
"It hurts," he said sadly, "every minute of the day, I walk, breathe, sweat, cry Puerto Rico."
He's been hurting more for his home since 2017, when Hurricane Maria hit.
"My family moved, with the exception of a couple cousins who live in Cabo Rojo." He said it was too much to start over an most of his family moved to the states.
"The electrical grid is ancient, and it has to be repaired. They started the repairs little by little, then the earthquakes hit," saying in frustration, "whats next? What did Puerto Ricans do to deserve this?"
"There's thousands of people living on the streets, because of their homes being destroyed or they're afraid of their home collapsing on top of them." Rosas said friends described the desperate living conditions through social media.
Rosas gave a friend a flash light as a gift before he went to Puerto Rico a few months back. He said it was a joke, but now that friend now using it regularly, "he's in Isla Verde, so they lost power there, and it's periodically, it comes and goes. The food supply, water," he said was dwindling.
He said a group caravaned from the north side of the island bringing supplies like diapers, formula and juice to those affected by the earthquakes.
The positivity keeps Rosas going, "we don't give up, we won't lay down and say okay."
He raised $8,000 for supplies for the island and is planning another fundraiser. He hopes more people hear about what is going on an do what they can to help.
