Havana, January 9 (RHC)--Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel expressed his solidarity with Puerto Rico, hit by several earthquakes, including one of 6.4 magnitude, which caused severe property damage.

'The sister Island of Enchantment, the Puerto Rico with which we share traditions, history, and independence quests, is suffering the onslaught of strong earthquakes,' the Cuban president tweeted.
'Our endless solidarity with our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters,' Diaz-Canel added.

Puerto Rican Governor Wanda Vazquez declared a state of emergency on the island due to the severe damage reported to several homes, businesses, and structures, including schools and churches.   At least one person died, and 300 homes were destroyed.  It was the strongest quake to hit the island in 102 years.

The earthquakes knocked out Puerto Rico's main generating facility, the Costa Sur plant, and damaged other infrastructure.

Officials have said that power is unlikely to be restored to the island's three million population until this weekend, and it will take at least a year to repair the Costa Sur plant.

The island is still recovering from Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm that devastated parts of the Caribbean in September 2017.
In Puerto Rico alone, the hurricane is estimated to have killed 2,975 people and caused 100 billion dollars of damage.