“Strange” Gulf of Mexico earthquake shakes Florida and Cuba

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Cuba in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, with “reports of tremors across Southwest Florida,” according to a social media post from the Miami office of the National Weather Service (NWS).

The quake occurred 104 kilometers (about 65 miles) northwest of Mantua, Cuba, says Robert Garcia, warning coordination meteorologist at the NWS Miami office. It occurred at approximately 2 pm EDT and at a depth of 26 kilometers (about 16 miles) below the surface. “We haven’t heard any reports of damage in South Florida,” Garcia says. There is no risk of a tsunami from the earthquake at this time.

Jeff Berardelli, chief meteorologist at an NBC affiliate station in Tampa, Florida, said on Bluesky’s website that the quake was among the largest in the history of the Gulf of Mexico. The 1959 earthquake of about 6.4 magnitude, which occurred near Veracruz, Mexico, was likely the “strongest known earthquake” ever recorded in the Gulf, Berardelli wrote.

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This quake is considered “strange” because it occurred within the tectonic plate, rather than along the edge — something rare but not unheard of, says Wendy Bohun, an independent earthquake geologist. “This earthquake is in a fairly unusual place, and it’s very large,” she says, adding that no earthquakes exceeding a magnitude of 5.0 have been recorded within 250 kilometers of this quake.

Like the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the Caribbean has a smaller “ring” of seismic activity, adds Susan Hogue, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. For example, these boundaries caused the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. But Monday’s quake occurred far beyond those limits, Hogg says, something that may require further research by scientists.

The quake occurred on the same day as a separate 7.8-magnitude earthquake off the coast of the Philippines. The last earthquake occurred in a subduction zone; Such areas are capable of producing the strongest possible earthquakes.

Additional reporting by Megan Bartels.

Editor’s Note (8/6/26): This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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