ORLANDO, Fla. — A strong earthquake off the Northwestern coast of Cuba was felt across Central Florida on Monday.
Channel 9 is working to gather more information. See live updates below:
3:28 p.m. update:
Records show Monday’s earthquake was the strongest ever recorded in the Gulf.
Channel 9’s Greg Warmouth spoke with Dr. Raymond Russo, a geophysics professor, who said the shaking in Florida appears to be low in intensity.
Russo said he does not expect local damage or sinkhole concerns from this earthquake.
WFTV’s Tom Terry said the data coming in fluid and magnitude reports ranged from 6.1 to 6.4.
The latest data now point to the quake being closer to 6.1 in magnitude.
3:15 p.m. update:
Emergency management centers in Citrus County and Manatee County on Florida’s West Coast said on their social media accounts that they are actively monitoring conditions after Monday’s Earthquake.
There are still no reports of damage.
3:05 p.m. update:
Lake County said it has closed all county offices for the day “due to conditions experienced locally from today’s earthquake.”
County officials said this is being done out of an abundance of caution.
Original report:
Many people in Central Florida reported feeling a small earthquake Monday afternoon.
A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Northwest Cuba and was felt in Central Florida.
This occurred shortly after 2 p.m. These kind of earthquakes are rare in the Caribbean and the Gulf.
There is no threat of a tsunami in the Gulf.
It occurred near the fault line between the North American plate and the Caribbean plate, which has a lateral strike-slip motion boundary.
This means that the plates move in opposite directions and not towards each other.
That is important because tsunamis typically occur when one tectonic plate is moving on top of another tectonic plate.
Small aftershocks will follow in the coming hours.
Channel 9 is working to gather more information and will provide updates on Eyewitness News.
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