Earthquake hits Florida from off of Mantua, Cuba

The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake today off of Cuba, at location M 6.1 – 104 km west northwest of Mantua, Cuba. The time was 14:00:25 p.m, but felt a few minutes later in Boca Grande.

Below, the graphic from the USGS. The spot in the Straits of Florida is south of Tallahassee, and over 300 miles from Gasparilla Island, roughly the same distance as Jacksonville.

Readers from across the state have reported the same shaking, as far as Orlando. Some reported office towers moving in Tampa (up 14 stories) and in Sarasota. A reader reported two shakes in Placida, and it was felt on the north end of the island.

The depth was at 10 km. So far, there have been no fatalities or injuries reported. There was no threat of tsnunami; a 7.6-magnitude Caribbean earthquake earlier this year only produced potential tsunami heights of 3–10 feet.

Reports were that the earthquake was a strike-slip fault, which doesn’t significantly lift or drop the ocean floor. Instead it moves horizontally.