Florida Feels the Rumble as Strongest Earthquake in 150 Years Strikes Near Cuba

A rare and powerful earthquake rattled the Caribbean on Monday, sending tremors across Florida, parts of Mexico, and Cuba. The 6.1-magnitude quake, the strongest in the region in nearly 150 years, struck about 65 miles northwest of Mantua, Cuba, according to the US Geological Survey. The epicenter was just 16 miles deep, which helped carry the shaking far and wide.

Despite the intensity, no injuries, deaths, or major structural damage have been reported. But for many Floridians—unused to such geological surprises—the experience was unsettling. Britnee Jeffries, a Tampa Bay resident, told WFLA, “It was very strong and honestly kind of scary. We don’t get earthquakes here, so I wasn’t sure what to think.”

In Ruskin, Barbara German was working upstairs when she felt the tremors. “It was alarming at first because I really didn’t know what it was,” she said. Bobby Shea, in St. Petersburg, described his chair swaying side to side and metal fixtures clattering. “I thought, this is weird—this is a concrete building,” he said.

Kelsey Pope, working from home in a third-floor apartment, initially blamed her dog for the shaking. “Then my desk started moving and water sloshed in my Nespresso machine. I honestly thought the building might collapse,” she told WFLA.

In Mexico, Reuters reported evacuations in Cancún, with tremors felt in Playa del Carmen and Tulum. Authorities in Yucatán and Quintana Roo activated emergency protocols in public spaces. The US Tsunami Warning Center assured there is no tsunami threat for the US or Canada.

USGS seismologist Paul Earle noted the last quake of this size within 200 miles of Monday’s epicenter occurred in 1880—a 6.0-magnitude event near San Cristóbal, Cuba. For now, residents are left with a story to tell and a reminder that the ground can move even where it usually doesn’t.