Earthquake Details and Location

The earthquake struck in the afternoon approximately 65 miles (105km) north-west of Mantua, Cuba, and had a depth of 16 miles, the USGS reported. This was the strongest tremor in the area since 1880, when a 6.0-magnitude quake occurred near San Cristóbal, Cuba, according to Paul Earle, a USGS seismologist.

Resident Reactions and Impact

No injuries. Deaths, or major property damage were reported; However, residents in Florida described the experience as unusual and alarming, as the area is not accustomed to earthquakes. Britnee Jeffries. A Tampa Bay resident. Told WFLA: “It was very strong and it was honestly kind of scary — I wasn’t really worried in a sense that I thought it was here because we don’t get earthquakes here. But at the same time, I was worried because we don’t get them here.”

Barbara German. A Ruskin. Florida resident. Told WTVT that she was upstairs in her home working when she felt the tremors, but “It was kind of alarming at first because I really didn’t know what it was,” she said. Meanwhile, St. Petersburg resident Bobby Shea described the experience to WTVT: “I’m in my chair and it started literally going left and right, the metals on my walls kept clamping together and I’m like, ‘Holy smokes, like this is weird. This is a concrete building.’”

Kelsey Pope. Another local resident. Told WFLA: “I was sitting in my chair working from home when I suddenly felt a distinct shake. At first, I thought it was just my dog Archie moving around, but then I noticed my desk and even the water in my Nespresso machine sloshing back and forth. My whole apartment building was swaying, and since I’m on the third floor, I honestly thought it might collapse; After a couple of minutes, the shaking stopped, and I realized it had been an earthquake.”

Impact in Mexico and Official Response

In Mexico, Reuters reported evacuations in Cancún, while neighboring cities Playa del Carmen and Tulum also felt the tremors. Authorities in Yucatán and Quintana Roo implemented precautionary emergency measures across public areas. Despite the impact, the US Tsunami Warning Center said on Monday that there is “no tsunami danger” for the US east and southern coasts or eastern coastal Canada.

“Based on earthquake information and historic tsunami records, the earthquake is not expected to generate a tsunami,” the center added. The last earthquake of a similar size to occur within 200 miles of Monday’s tremor was a 6.0-magnitude tremor near San Cristóbal, Cuba in 1880, according to Paul Earle.