Scary moment for Carlos Correa ... the Astros star says he was forced to run for his life in Puerto Rico after a 6.4 earthquake kickstarted a tsunami warning near his home Tuesday.
"We're getting in our cars and driving out because we live by the beach," Carlos said. "It was terrible."
Carlos was visiting his hometown when the giant quake rocked the island ... and in a conversation with FOX 26 Houston's Mark Berman, he described the frightening scene.
"By the time you realize it's an earthquake, you got to make a decision but you're not sure if it's the right one," Correa said ... "A lot of families lost everything."
The shortstop continued, "A lot of houses went down. A lot of schools went down. It was really sad to drive by & see the damage. It breaks my heart."
According to multiple reports ... the quake was the strongest in Puerto Rico since 1918 -- and left more than 300 people homeless.
Correa -- who made it out of the island safe and back to his home in Houston -- vowed to return to Puerto Rico to help with damage relief.
"We're going to focus on schools," Carlos said. "Kids, unfortunately, they're not going to be able to go to school because they don't have a school to go to."
"Education is real important to me and our foundation. We want to be able to help rebuild those schools as fast as possible."