Lake Mary, Longwood residents report shaking after Cuba earthquake

Homes in Lake Mary and Longwood shook around 6 p.m., and residents quickly started comparing notes on whether the movement was an earthquake or something else. The timing matched a magnitude 6.1 earthquake that struck offshore west-northwest of Mantua, Cuba, and sent tremors across parts of Florida, including Seminole County.

The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the quake at 18:00:27 UTC on June 8, 2026, at a depth of 26.0 kilometers. The agency described it as reverse faulting and an intraplate earthquake within the North America plate. It also said there were no instrumentally recorded magnitude 5 or larger earthquakes within 250 kilometers of the event, making it the largest instrumentally recorded earthquake in the Gulf of America since 1950.

The federal tsunami center said there was no tsunami threat, and the U.S. Geological Survey estimated only a 1 percent chance of at least one magnitude 6 or larger aftershock within a week, though it put the chance of at least one magnitude 4 or larger aftershock at 58 percent. The agency said the quake had a low likelihood of damage.

Reports spread fast across Central Florida after the shaking. WKMG ClickOrlando said viewers in the Clermont area called in about the tremors, while WUSF said the quake was felt from South Florida to Tallahassee, with reports also coming from Orlando and Seminole County. CBS Miami said people from Tampa and Orlando to South Florida reported shaking, but no significant injuries or major property damage were reported.

The rare jolt stood out in a state that does not commonly experience earthquakes. Florida’s largest recorded quake is widely cited as the magnitude 4.4 event on Jan. 12, 1879, which was centered near Putnam County and was felt across north Florida. The June 8 shaking drew attention because it was strong enough to be felt far from Cuba and across a wide stretch of Florida, from Lake Mary and Longwood to Miami and Tallahassee.