Last week, Puerto Rico was hit with its most devastating earthquake in a century. The 6.4 magnitude quake, which was followed by a 6.0 magnitude aftershock, collapsed homes, caused an island-wide power outage and affected thousands of lives, including that of longtime APRO member and owner of Dial RTO Daniel Singh.
“The past few days have been very rough for the island,” he shared.
The quake, which rocked the southern coast, was the latest in more than 950 smaller quakes and aftershocks recorded in the area since December 31, according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey.
Singh’s business is on the south east side in Humacao, about 50 miles from the most severe damage.
“Our area is mostly unaffected by structural damages but we did not have power, internet or phones for a few days. We have been restored and things are back to semi-normal,” Singh added.
Another APRO member with stores on the island, Mark Connelly with Arona Corporation (an Aaron’s franchise), reports that his employees are safe and sound; however, his stores do not have power and are running on generators.
While finding solace in these times with natural disasters is hard, the RTO Employee Disaster Relief Fund was established to help rent-to-own employees recover in these situations. Since 2005, APRO members have contributed to the fund which has dispersed more than $425,000 to those affected by hurricanes, tornadoes and fires. Due to the unfortunate frequency of these natural disasters, APRO’s membership is ready to help RTO employees at any time with its established RTO [Relief To Our] Employees Disaster Relief Fund.
If your company is an APRO member, and you or your employee(s) have been affected by a recent natural disaster, you might qualify for assistance. Click here to apply for assistance and APRO staff will contact you.
