The epicenter of a 6.1 magnitude earthquake was reported Monday in the Gulf about 64 miles west of Cuba.
The United States Geological Survey, which reported the quake, said the quake happened about 2:23 p.m.
Some residents in Southwest Florida reported they felt something at the time of the quake.
Jay Hasanain of Bonita Springs said he thought he was hallucinating.
"You mean it was real," he asked when WGCU confirmed the quake.
He said his wife, Ofelia Phillips, felt it.
"She said the building was shaking," Hasanain said. " She said the couch moved."
The couple live in a 23-story residential building in the south Lee County community.
Several staffers at WGCU's studios on the FGCU campus also reported feeling the shaking.
The USGS also said there was a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
According to the National Tsunami Warning Center and based on earthquake information and historic tsunami records, the earthquake is not expected to generate a tsunami. The center said there is no tsunami danger for the U.S. east coast or the Gulf states.
Quake information
Small earthquakes are not unusual in the wider Gulf basin, but a temblor strong enough to feel in the deep eastern Gulf near Florida is rare.
That last happened in September 2006 when a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck, it’s epicenter about 250 miles west-southwest of Anna Maria Island. It was the strongest temblor in the Gulf in 33 years.
People reported shaking lasting about 20 seconds. No damage or injuries were reported.
The U.S. Geological Survey received more than 2,800 reports from people who felt it along Florida’s Gulf Coast and as far north as Georgia.
The quake was unusual. Being in the middle of the North American plate the Gulf doesn't sit on a plate boundary, or fault line, where most earthquake activity is generated. Seismologists call those intraplate events, and why they occur is not very well understood.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you. WGCU Senior Environmental Reporter Tom Bayles contributed to this report.
