6.1 Earthquake Off Cuba Sends Shaking Across South Florida

Residents from Naples to Jacksonville reported an unusual sensation Monday afternoon: the ground was moving. No severe storm was passing through. No construction equipment was responsible. The cause was a magnitude 6.1 earthquake that struck in the Gulf of Mexico off the northwest coast of Cuba, more than 300 miles from Florida's nearest shores.

The quake occurred at approximately 2 p.m. Eastern on June 8, 2026, with its epicenter roughly 65 miles west-northwest of Mantua, Cuba, according to the United States Geological Survey. The tremor was initially measured at 6.4 before the USGS revised it downward to 6.1 — still a significant event capable of causing damage near its source.

How Far the Shaking Reached

What made the earthquake notable for the continental United States was not the event itself but where the shaking was felt. Reports flooded in from across the Florida peninsula almost immediately after the quake struck. The heaviest concentration of reports came from the state's southwest coast, from Port Richey south through Tampa Bay, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Naples — the area directly facing the Gulf of Mexico and closest to the epicenter.