Cuba earthquake: 6.1 magnitude quake triggers tremors across Florida

TAMPA, Fla. - A powerful 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Cuba on Monday, sending shockwaves that rattled residents from the Bay Area up through north Florida.

Cuba Earthquake Tremors

What we know:

A major 6.1 magnitude earthquake occurred in Cuba on Monday, according to data released by the United States Geological Survey. Federal researchers traced the origin of the powerful quake to a point 104 kilometers west-northwest of Mantua, Cuba. 

The impact of the shockwave traveled hundreds of miles north. 

In Florida, the National Weather Service in Jacksonville reported receiving a wave of calls and messages detailing noticeable shaking and tremors from residents. 

FOX 13 also experienced an influx of emails and phone calls from people across the Bay Area who reported feeling the ground move. 

Florida Beach Impacts

What we don't know:

Meteorologists have not yet confirmed exactly how many total households felt the physical effects of the distant Cuban earthquake. Officials have also not disclosed any immediate reports of structural damage or injuries along the Florida coast.

While the shaking caught many coastal residents by surprise, emergency management personnel stressed that area beaches are completely safe. The National Weather Service in Jacksonville confirmed that there is absolutely no tsunami threat to any local shorelines resulting from this earthquake.

Floridians Feeling The Tremors  

What they're saying:

"It was really crazy," said Barbara German, a Ruskin resident. "It was kind of alarming at first, because I really didn't know what it was." 

German says she works upstairs in her home and she felt the earthquake up there.

"My granddaughter was downstairs," German said. "She didn't feel it. She was downstairs."

People all across Florida reported feeling the earthquake.

"I'm in my chair and it started literally going left and right," said Bobby Shea, a St. Petersburg resident. "The metals on my walls kept clamping together, and I'm like, ‘Holy smokes, like, this is weird. This is a concrete building.’"

Why You Felt The Quake

Dig deeper:

Rose Hilmo, a marine geology professor at the University of Tampa, said Florida felt surface waves, which travel on the outer shell of the earth and shake buildings and people.

"You felt the actual earthquake," Hilmo said. "It just takes some time for those waves to travel away from the source and be felt by people in the surrounding regions."

Earthquakes are uncommon in the region because the Caribbean tectonic plate runs south of Cuba.

But the earthquake was north of the island, so Hilmo said an old fault line caused this.

"There's been stress on that old subduction zone boundary that resulted in this thrust fault earthquake," Hilmo said.

It could be a reason many people did not realize it was an earthquake.

"I just parked the vehicle and the vehicle just started rockin' back and forth, and I'm thinkin', ‘Is that an earthquake? What is that?’ And I know what they feel like," said Michael Birchenough, a St. Pete resident. "I lived in California."

Tampa International Airport took the opportunity to poke fun at the incident with a social media post that said, "We will rebuild," showing a tipped-over chair.

Luckily, there will likely be nothing to rebuild as there are no reports of building damage in Florida.

Tampa