Earthquakes in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico are not rare
WPBF 25 NEWS STARTS WITH BREAKING NEWS BREAKING RIGHT NOW AT FIVE. A MAGNITUDE 6.1 EARTHQUAKE STRUCK OFF THE WESTERN COAST OF CUBA THIS AFTERNOON. WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY REPORTS OF DAMAGE OR INJURIES. THE EARTHQUAKE SENT SHOCK WAVES ACROSS FLORIDA FROM JACKSONVILLE TO MIAMI. PEOPLE REPORTED FEELING SHAKING. GOOD EVENING. I’M TIFFANY KENNEY. I’M TODD MCDERMOTT. THANKS FOR JOINING US HERE AT FIVE. WE HAVE LIVE TEAM COVERAGE FOR YOU. OUR CHIEF CERTIFIED METEOROLOGIST, CHRIS MARTINEZ, HAS MORE ON THE AFTERSHOCKS FELT IN OUR AREA AND ANY POSSIBLE THREAT FOR A TSUNAMI. BUT WE BEGIN WITH CALEB CALIFANO WHO IS IN PALM BEACH COUNTY. CALEB, YOU SPOKE WITH A WOMAN IN LAKE WORTH BEACH WHO FELT THE IMPACT. THAT IS CORRECT. HER NAME IS MIRIAM BLANCO SHARKEY. SHE SAYS THAT SHE WAS SITTING ON THE COUCH WITH HER KIDS WHEN SHE STARTED TO FEEL THE SHAKING HAPPEN. NOW, SHE SAYS, THE MOVEMENT WAS ACTUALLY STRONG ENOUGH TO MOVE THE COUCH BACK AND FORTH, ALONG WITH BLINDS AND A MIRROR AT HER HOME. TAKE A LOOK. THIS VIDEO THAT SHE TOOK OF THE MIRROR SLOWLY MOVING INSIDE THE HOME. NOW, SHE TELLS ME AT FIRST SHE THOUGHT SOMETHING MIGHT BE WRONG, BUT AFTER HER SON CONFIRMED HE FELT IT TOO, SHE REALIZED IT WAS LIKELY AN EARTHQUAKE. IT WAS VERY SHOCKING. IT WAS WILD AND AND I THOUGHT I WAS GOING CRAZY. SO I ASKED MY SON, I’M LIKE, DO YOU FEEL THAT? LIKE, IS IT JUST ME? AND WHEN HE TOLD ME, NO, MOM, I FEEL THAT. AND WE JUST NOTICED THE MIRROR AND WE WERE LOOKING AT THE MIRROR, EXPECTING IT TO STOP SHAKING. BUT IT WAS MINUTES THAT IT WAS DOING THAT. NOW, IT WASN’T JUST HERE IN LAKE WORTH, PEOPLE FROM ACROSS OUR AREA FELT THE EARTHQUAKE. TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THESE COMMENTS. ONE PERSON SAID FELT IT HERE IN PORT SAINT LUCIE. I HAD MY BOYS COME AND LOOK UNDER MY BED. I THOUGHT SOMEONE WAS TRYING TO GET OUT. ANOTHER SAID THE WHOLE BUILDING SHOOK FOR 2 TO 3 MINUTES. HERE IN WEST PALM BEACH ON CLEMATIS, I JUMPED OFF THE SOFTWARE. I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO. NOW THE GOOD NEWS, AS YOU GUYS WERE SAYING IN OUR AREA, AS OF RIGHT NOW, THERE IS NO REPORTS OF ANY DAMAGE, JUST A NUMBER OF PEOPLE CONFUSED ON WHAT ACTUALLY WAS HAPPENING. TODD. CALEB. LET’S GO TO OUR CHIEF CERTIFIED METEOROLOGIST CRIS MARTINEZ. CHRIS. OBVIOUSLY, IN CASE LIKE THIS, WE DO HAVE TO TALK ABOUT ANY THREAT FOR TSUNAMI. ABSOLUTELY. AGAIN, SO CLOSE TO THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND THAT HIGHER MAGNITUDE 6.1, THE ACTUAL DISTANCE AWAY FROM WEST PALM BEACH, ABOUT 420 MILES. SO YOU CAN SEE THAT WAS A VERY POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE RIGHT OFF THE COAST OF CUBA, ABOUT 60 MILES TO THE NORTHWEST OF THAT. AND ALSO, THE GOOD NEWS IS THERE IS NO TSUNAMI THREAT TO THE ENTIRE STATE OR ANYWHERE ACROSS THE GULF. IN FACT, AS YOU TAKE A LOOK AT LIVE WAVE HEIGHTS, THEY’RE STILL LOOKING GOOD, 1 TO 2FT. WE’RE NOT LOOKING AT AN INCREASED WAVE HEIGHTS. SO AGAIN, NO THREAT OF TSUNAMI TO OUR AREA. BUT LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT WHERE THESE AFTERSHOCKS WERE FELT. AND YOU CAN SEE AS WE POP UP OUR VIDEO, YOU CAN SEE WE’RE TRACKING THE POSSIBILITY OF THE AFTERSHOCKS MOVING CLOSER TOWARDS PLACES LIKE TAMPA, BACK TOWARDS KEY WEST, WEST PALM BEACH. YOU CAN ZOOM ON IN WITH THIS INTERACTIVE MAP, ALL THESE LITTLE BLUE BOXES RIGHT HERE INDICATE SOME SORT OF, OH, I FELT IT. SO THAT’S WHERE THEY HAVE THIS INTERACTIVE MAP. AND YOU CAN SEE ALL ACROSS THE STATE OF FLORIDA, INCLUDING MIAMI UP TOWARDS PALM BEACH COUNTY AND A LOT OF REPORTS ON THE SOUTHWEST SIDE OF THE STATE, GUYS. ALL RIGHT, CHRIS, THANK YOU. AND SOME BUILDINGS WERE ACTUALLY EVACUATED IN MIAMI BECAUSE OF THE EARTHQUAKE. AND THAT INCLUDES THE MIAMI DADE, STEVEN P CLARK GOVERNMENT CENTER AND THE DADELAND METRORAIL STATION. THE CITY SAYS STANDARD EVACUATION PROTOCOLS WERE IMPLEMENTED OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION. THERE’S BEEN NO REPORTED DAMAGE OR INJURIES. LET’S DIVE DEEPER INTO THE NUMBERS. SINCE 1900, THERE HAVE BEEN 213 EARTHQUAKES OF AT LEAST MAGNITUDE 4.0 OR GREATER. THE STRUCK IN OR NEAR CUBA. MORE RECENTLY, SOME OF THE STRONGEST EARTHQUAKES AFFECTING THE ISLAND INCLUDE A MAGNITUDE 6.8 EARTHQUAKE IN EASTERN PART OF CUBA BACK IN 2024. JUST A FEW YEARS EARLIER. JANUARY 2020 A 7.7 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE, THE STRONGEST ON RECORD TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE NATION OF CUBA. OF COURSE, WE’LL CONTINUE TO UPDATE YOU ON THIS BREAKING NEWS STORY, BOTH ON T
Earthquakes near Florida in the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea have occurred in recent decades.According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there have been 7,786 earthquakes in the region during the last 30 years, from June 8, 1996, to June 8, 2026.CLICK HERE TO VIEW EARTHQUAKES NEAR FLORIDA LAST 30 YEARSA magnitude 6.1 earthquake was recorded off the western coast of Cuba in the Gulf on Monday afternoon.The Associated Press reported that buildings shook in the island nation of Cuba in the nation’s capital of Havana.Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 NewsNo injuries or damage were immediately reported.Tremors from the earthquake were reportedly felt in Florida.Most of the island nations in the northern Caribbean Sea are along the Oriente fault zone. According to Harvard University, the zone sees the collision between the Caribbean and North American tectonic plates under the surface.Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.Harvard University adds that the friction between the two plates leads to complex strike-slip fault zones, which successively jump southward to accommodate the eastward escape of the Caribbean plate and the collision indentation against the Bahama carbonate platform.During the past 30 years, the strongest earthquake recorded in the region was a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that was 76.4 miles north-northwest of Lucea, Jamaica in the Caribbean Sea, on Jan. 28, 2020.
Earthquakes near Florida in the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea have occurred in recent decades.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there have been 7,786 earthquakes in the region during the last 30 years, from June 8, 1996, to June 8, 2026.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW EARTHQUAKES NEAR FLORIDA LAST 30 YEARS
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake was recorded off the western coast of Cuba in the Gulf on Monday afternoon.
National Weather Service Melbourne, Florida
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the western coast of Cuba, with tremors reportedly felt as far north as Tampa and Miami Beach.
The Associated Press reported that buildings shook in the island nation of Cuba in the nation’s capital of Havana.
Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
No injuries or damage were immediately reported.
U.S. Geological Survey
Earthquakes near Florida in the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea are common. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there have been, 7,786 earthquakes in the region from during the last 30 years from June 8, 1996, to June 8, 2026.
Tremors from the earthquake were reportedly felt in Florida.
Most of the island nations in the northern Caribbean Sea are along the Oriente fault zone.
According to Harvard University, the zone sees the collision between the Caribbean and North American tectonic plates under the surface.
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
Harvard University adds that the friction between the two plates leads to complex strike-slip fault zones, which successively jump southward to accommodate the eastward escape of the Caribbean plate and the collision indentation against the Bahama carbonate platform.
During the past 30 years, the strongest earthquake recorded in the region was a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that was 76.4 miles north-northwest of Lucea, Jamaica in the Caribbean Sea, on Jan. 28, 2020.