GUANICA, PUERTO RICO: At the request of the public, government and businesses, earthquake structural engineering and recovery experts from Miyamoto International will arrive in Puerto Rico on Sunday to assist with damage assessments and recovery plans.

We will assess the conditions and assist the public as required.

Dr. Kit Miyamoto, a structural engineer and a California Seismic Safety Commissioner, will lead a specialized team which has responded to more than 100 earthquakes. Together, they will provide support and advice to the people and government of Puerto Rico.

“We will assess the conditions and assist the public as required. We will also work with local engineers to convey the lessons we have learned from other disastrous earthquakes ” said Miyamoto.

The team will meet with the government as well as public, businesses, and municipal entities in Penuelas, Villalba, Guayanilla and Catano. The team will also assess schools, bridges and damaged infrastructure that disrupts transportation, utilities and other critical services. 

With hundreds of tremors since December 28th, Puerto Ricans in effected areas are sleeping outside in fear and unable to restore power in plants that have suffered an estimated $50 million in damages.

The island has not experienced an earthquake of this magnitude in over a hundred years and local response teams will be trained in rapid damage assessments which help to strategize recovery effort and relief.

Dr. Miyamoto and his team have assisted businesses and governments in Ecuador, Nepal, Italy, Haiti, China, New Zealand, Japan and many other countries and won the U.S. Presidential “E” Award for sharing technical knowledge with earthquake-stricken countries around the world.