A 6.1-magnitude earthquake rattled Cuba on Monday afternoon, shaking buildings in its capital of Havana in what was the island’s strongest temblor in 150 years — with the tremors felt as far away as Florida.
The quake was so strong that it even shut down Miami’s city government building — and aftershocks were expected.
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake rattled the island of Cuba on Monday afternoon, shaking buildings in the capital city of Havana — tremors felt as far away as Florida. Anadolu via Getty Images
Workers rushing down stairs after an earthquake in Havana. AFP via Getty Images“Dude! I felt this #Earthquake in Hollywood, #Florida!” a shocked X user wrote.
“I was sitting on my couch and felt the whole couch move, looked at my coffee table and it was swaying, then checked my water and it was moving! That was like a solid 60+ mins of shaking. WOW!”
The epicenter of the quake was just west of Cuba, with the US Geological Survey initially rating it at 6.4 magnitude before downgrading it, Spectrum Bay News 9 reported.
No injuries were immediately reported from the temblor, which struck at a depth of about 16 miles off the coast of Mantua on Cuba’s western coast, the USGS said.
According to the National Tsunami Warning Center, the quake did not create a potentially deadly wave.
“Everyone here is OK,” Flavia Pupo, a hotel manager at the Pinar del Rio hotel, told The Associated Press.
“The people on the street are a little bit scared.”
Workers are seen after evacuating a building due to a tremor caused by the quake. AFP via Getty Images
AFP via Getty ImagesAn earthquake that strong had not hit near the island since 1880, when a 6.0 temblor occurred off the island’s city of San Cristobal.
Monday’s earthquake led to reports of tremors from Hollywood, Fla., to Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville there, too.
“You can barely see it, but I felt it,” a Palm Beach resident said in online video showing an orchid plant shaking.
The tremor prompted officials to evacuate the Miami city government building, WPLG-TV reported.
Mexico also was rocked.
“Lots of shaking for a good minute,” someone posted on X from Playa del Carmen. “Worse than the 2 earthquakes I’ve experienced in LA. Pretty scary before it ended.”
Monday also saw two quakes in the Philippines: a 5.3 magnitude temblor southwest of the islands and a 4.9 magnitude one to the south, the USGS reported.
The USGS told Spectrum that the region should expect aftershocks.
“We are still getting felt reports and would expect aftershocks from a quake of this size,’’ a rep said.
Cuba’s Oriente fault off the country’s southeast coast has shaken the island in the past, including with a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in 2020 that also caused damage on the nearby Cayman Islands.
