Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake Hits Just North Of Cuba, Felt In Key West
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck just off the northern coast of Cuba just before 3 p.m. Thursday.
The earthquake, according to the USGS, struck just 24 miles north of Corralillo, Cuba, or about 112 miles east of Havana. The earthquake was reportedly 12.4 miles below the earth's surface.
"The National Weather Service in Key West has recently received numerous reports of an earthquake...No damage has been reported," the NWS said on its website.
People along Duval Street in Key West couldn't stop talking about the quake.
"I felt the bed was shaking," said Wolfgang Fischer, who was visiting from Germany.
According to the USGS, at least 27 reports have come from Key West about weak to light shaking from the earthquake. The USGS said residents in Cape Coral and Venice also reported weak to light shaking.
"We were sitting in a meeting and we started to feel the table shake and we weren't sure exactly what was happening , went out to where the cruise ships were and said 'Did it hit the dock or something?' We didn't know what was going on it was weird," said Calvin Pate.
"I was in my condo at the Sunset Harbor and I felt it shaking, heard windows rattling and door shaking and I said this is a damn earthquake, I've been through this before and sure enough it was," said Roger Hardin.
Alyson Crean, public information officer for the city of Key West, said she "absolutely" felt the quake.
"I'm from the west coast of the United States originally; I knew an earthquake when I felt it," Crean told CBS4. "It was a very low rumbling that kind of shook the office, but did not tumble anything down."
Crean said the quake's effects were very low and that not everyone in Key West felt the shaking Thursday evening.
The tourist town didn't take long to get back to normal and it seemed like a typical night by Thursday evening.
The National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska said the earthquake did not trigger any danger for a tsunami and no other warning will be issued.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection said no known earthquake has ever had its epicenter beneath Florida, although several have been felt across the state.