LATE BREAKING WPBF 25 NEWS STARTS NOW. FIRST NIGHT TREMORS FELT ALL OVER THE STATE OF FLORIDA FROM A MAGNITUDE 6.1 EARTHQUAKE OFF OF CUBA’S WEST COAST. PEOPLE FROM MIAMI TO JACKSONVILLE REPORTED FEELING THE SHAKING AROUND 2:00 THIS AFTERNOON. MIAMI DOWNTOWN GOVERNMENT CENTER WAS EVACUATED AS A PRECAUTION. TO SHUT DOWN THE CITY’S METRO RAIL SYSTEM IN ORLANDO AT SEAWORLD AND DISNEY WORLD ALSO WERE SHUT DOWN. PEOPLE REPORTED FEELING TREMORS IN CENTRAL FLORIDA. THANKFULLY, TONIGHT WE HAVE NO REPORTS OF DAMAGE OR INJURIES FROM THIS EARTHQUAKE. GOOD EVENING AND THANKS FOR JOINING US HERE AT 11. I’M TODD MCDERMOTT. 1130. TREMORS FELT HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA. NOT MAJOR BUT CERTAINLY GOT THE ATTENTION. A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO JUST AREN’T USED TO FEELING THE EARTH SHAKE HERE. I SPOKE WITH SOME OF THE PEOPLE AND HAS MORE. ON SOUTH FLORIDA’S REACTION TO THE EARTHQUAKE TO OUR SOUTH, WHERE I’M STANDING HERE IN PALM BEACH GARDENS, IS MORE THAN 400 MILES AWAY FROM THE EPICENTER OF THIS EARTHQUAKE. BUT AS YOU’VE HEARD, PLENTY OF PEOPLE HERE FELT THE TREMORS. IN FACT, PLENTY OF PEOPLE AS FAR NORTH AS JACKSONVILLE FELT THE TREMORS. WHEN YOU THINK OF DRAMATIC EARTHQUAKE VIDEO, THIS PROBABLY ISN’T IT. THIS IS A MIRROR DOOR SHAKING IN MIRIAM BLANCO SHARKEY’S LAKE WORTH BEACH HOME MONDAY AFTERNOON. 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? JENNIFER WITTKOWSKI FELT THAT SAME SHAKING IN HER OFFICE IN JUPITER FOR ABOUT 30S. I FELT THIS SHAKING AND I COULD LITERALLY FEEL THE BUILDING SHAKE. IT WASN’T JUST OUR REGION. THE SHAKING COULD BE FELT ACROSS THE STATE. IN MIAMI, SOME BUILDINGS WERE EVACUATED JUST AS A PRECAUTION. THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SAYS IT WAS ALL CAUSED BY A 6.1 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE WEST NORTHWEST OF CUBA, AND DOCTOR SHIMON SAYS THAT LOCATION IS WHY WE FELT THE AFTERSHOCKS. HERE. DOCTOR IS A GEOPHYSICS PROFESSOR AT FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY. HE SAYS MOST EARTHQUAKES IN CUBA HAPPEN TO THE SOUTH OF THE COUNTRY. THIS ONE WAS NORTH AND CLOSER TO US. THE BUILDING RESPOND BY SHAKING AND THE UPPER PART MOVE A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THE LOWER PART, SO PEOPLE CAN FEEL THAT. DOCTOR SAYS. WHILE THE SHAKING MAY BE UNUSUAL IN FLORIDA, IT WAS FAR TOO MINOR TO WORRY ABOUT. BUT DON’T TELL THAT TO JENNIFER WITKOWSKY. HURRICANES. I CAN DEAL WITH EARTHQUAKES. NOT SO MUCH. GOOD THING FOR JENNIFER. WE DON’T GET A WHOLE LOT OF EARTHQUAKES AROUND HERE, BUT IF WE EVER DO. I ASKED DOCTOR FOR ADVICE, HE SAYS IMMEDIATELY AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE STARTS, FIND COVER SO NOTHING FALLS ON YOU. AND THEN AS SOON AS YOU CAN GET OUT OF THE BUILDING AND FIND AN OPEN SPACE IN PALM BEACH GARDENS. ARI HAIT WPBF 25 NEWS. THANKS TO OUR EARTHQUAKES NEAR FLORIDA IN THE GULF OF MEXICO, THE ATLANTIC AND CARIBBEAN HAVE BEEN HAPPENING IN RECENT DECADES TO A RISING DEGREE, ACCORDING TO THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, THERE HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 7000 EARTHQUAKES IN THE REGION DURING THE LAST 30 YEARS. FIND
‘I thought I was going crazy’: South Florida residents react to earthquake
Updated: 11:46 PM EDT Jun 8, 2026
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake west-northwest of Cuba on Monday afternoon caused tremors felt across Florida, reaching as far north as Jacksonville.In Lake Worth Beach, Miriam Blanco Sharkey felt the shaking in her home and then noticed a mirrored door moving. “It was very shocking. It was wild. I thought I was going crazy. So, I asked my son, ‘Do you feel that, or is it just me?'” Sharkey said. Jennifer Witkowski, who was in her office in Jupiter, also felt the tremors. “For about 30 seconds, I felt this shaking, and I could literally feel the building shake,” Witkowski said. The shaking was felt across the state, as far north as Jacksonville.In Miami, some buildings were evacuated as a precaution. The United States Geological Survey attributed the tremors to the earthquake near Cuba. Dr. Shimon Wdowinski, a geophysics professor at Florida International University, said most earthquakes in Cuba happen to the south of the country.This one was north of Cuba and therefore closer to Florida, allowing the shockwaves to reach the state. “A building responds by shaking, and the upper part moves a little bit more than the lower part, so people can feel that,” Wdowinski said.Wdowinski noted that while the shaking was unusual for Florida, it was far too minor to worry about.Don’t tell that to Jennifer Witkowski.”Hurricanes I can deal with,” she said. “Earthquakes, not so much.”Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here. Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
, Fla. —
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake west-northwest of Cuba on Monday afternoon caused tremors felt across Florida, reaching as far north as Jacksonville.
In Lake Worth Beach, Miriam Blanco Sharkey felt the shaking in her home and then noticed a mirrored door moving.
“It was very shocking. It was wild. I thought I was going crazy. So, I asked my son, ‘Do you feel that, or is it just me?'” Sharkey said.
Jennifer Witkowski, who was in her office in Jupiter, also felt the tremors.
“For about 30 seconds, I felt this shaking, and I could literally feel the building shake,” Witkowski said.
The shaking was felt across the state, as far north as Jacksonville.
In Miami, some buildings were evacuated as a precaution.
The United States Geological Survey attributed the tremors to the earthquake near Cuba.
Dr. Shimon Wdowinski, a geophysics professor at Florida International University, said most earthquakes in Cuba happen to the south of the country.
This one was north of Cuba and therefore closer to Florida, allowing the shockwaves to reach the state.
“A building responds by shaking, and the upper part moves a little bit more than the lower part, so people can feel that,” Wdowinski said.
Wdowinski noted that while the shaking was unusual for Florida, it was far too minor to worry about.
Don’t tell that to Jennifer Witkowski.
“Hurricanes I can deal with,” she said. “Earthquakes, not so much.”
Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News