An earthquake occurred Monday afternoon off the west coast of Cuba and some in South Florida felt the shaking of the temblor.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake was of a 6.1 magnitude, which is considered strong.
Meteorologists say there are about 120 of these type of earthquakes per year across a large area, but Monday’s quake was one of the most intense in the Gulf waters.
Joe Millender was on a cruise Monday when, he said, he felt the earthquake at sea.
“Our ship location and the location of the earthquake epicenter was probably within 20-25 miles of where we were,” said Millender. “Everything was going well, and all of a sudden, the ship started shaking and things falling off the shelves and people kind of grabbing hold of things, trying to hold on.”
Millender, a Tallahassee resident, was on board the Margaritaville Islander cruise ship when he felt the shake.
“After it was over with, they did come on pretty shortly and made an announcement saying that there had been an earthquake. Basically almost right underneath us,” said Millender.
The shaking was also felt across Florida in the aftermath in the early afternoon hours, according to the National Weather Service in Miami.
NWS said no active tsunami threat was expected from the earthquake.
Seismologists suggest where one lives could determine whether or not they felt the shaking of the earthquake. If one lives inside a mid-to-high level building, then they may have felt the shaking.
“Had that been under a populated city, it could cause some decent damage. Fortunately, this was off the coast but felt for a very long distance away, all the way out to Jacksonville, Florida,” said USGS Seismologist Paul Earle.
Experts also said people are more likely to feel it if they are indoors and sitting quietly.
The unsettling movements led to some people to evacuate their high-rises in Miami and post their reaction to social media.
“So we just experienced an earthquake in Miami because my building was shaking,” said Janin Cruz. “I stepped out, and now there’s a bunch of people out here.”
Lynn Miteva, who lives on the 21st floor of a downtown Miami condominium, said the earthquake shook things inside her home.
“I was working on my desk, and my laptop and something started moving, like the couch, like my body. The blinds started to hit the windows, and I have a small crystal just in front of me, and it started swinging like crazy,” she said.
Miteva told 7News her first thought was the integrity of her building. She hopes inspectors follow up on that issue in the coming days.
“It should be [a] concern for everybody to check the buildings, just in any case. You never know,” she said.
Others posted video of shaking interior items to social media. From a condominium chandelier to a water cooler in Fort Lauderdale, people across South Florida felt the tremble.
7Skyforce hovered over a high-rise in Kendall that was briefly evacuated out of caution. One woman told 7News she had to walk down 15 flights of stairs to get to safety.
“I was busy doing work, and they made a public announcement to evacuate the building and said, ‘This is real,'” said employee Laurie Sochin.
“My workmates felt it in the break room, and they came in and told us,” said employee Jack Hodapp.
Some Miami-Dade County buildings were also evacuated, such as the Stephen P. Clark Government Center. By Monday evening, the center had opened back up.
Up in Broward, area resident Mark spoke to 7News over the phone to express his thoughts on the earthquake.
“Earthquakes are very, very distinctive,” he said.
For Mark, who lived in northern California for most of his life, he knew immediately what the shaking was.
“I’ve been through 100 of them, let’s say, over the course of decades. It’s always the same. It’s kind of a twisting, creaking, swaying, and there’s some noise involved in them. It’s obvious as day to me,” he said.
Overall, experts said South Florida residents reported windows rattling, brief swaying in a building and hanging lights moving. All reports were short-lived.
The City of Miami said Fire Rescue responded to multiple calls of shaking. No major property damage or significant injuries was reported.
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