A swing on the porch swaying by itself. A brief internet outage.
Those were among the many reports on Facebook not long after 2 p.m. on June 8 when a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Cuba and was felt by Florida residents from the Keys to Pensacola, including Polk County residents.
The moderate but powerful earthquake was centered about 62 miles west of Mantua, Cuba.
Earthquakes are common along the active tectonic boundary between the North American plate and the Caribbean plate. But it is far less common for thousands of people across the Florida peninsula to feel such tremors.
Locals go to social media to post their earthquake experience
Rita Stuart said her swing started rocking to and fro about 2 p.m. Monday.
“Yes, I felt it in the Green Swamp area close to CR 33,” she said. “My high bar chair that I was sitting in rocked back and forth a couple of times.”
“It lasted about two minutes,” Stuart said. “I went outside to check around the house and the pool area, but so far, no damage.”
In Lakeland, Amy Smith was in a camper at the time of the tremors. She said, “I didn’t know it was an earthquake until my daughter told me. I was on the phone with her and all of a sudden, my camper just started moving.”
“I thought it was my dog playing at first, but I went outside to check the wind, and nothing,” Smith said. “My internet even stopped working. Then my daughter sent me the notification of the earthquake. I live in a 30-foot camper, so when it starts swaying I’m trying to figure out why.”
Davenport among areas in Polk County where earthquake was felt
While residents were feeling it, first responders did have at least one call about an earthquake.
Paul Womble, director of Polk County’s emergency management division, said despite reports of a possible earthquake, no damage nor known injuries could be verified.
“We were notified by the Emergency Communications Center of several calls from the Davenport area about a possible earthquake,” Womble said. “Fire Rescue and Law Enforcement checked the area and no damage was located.”
He also said the number of reports from Polk County and nearby communities on the USGS Did You Feel It online reporting tool was interesting.
Here is a sample of the numerous reports:
There were many more reports within zip codes not identified by a city on the USGS map and were within Polk County.
Florida earthquakes are rare compared to other U.S. states
According to a USA TODAY Network-Florida report, earthquakes are very rare in Florida because the peninsula is not located near any tectonic plate boundaries.
Florida ties North Dakota as the state with the fewest earthquakes per year, the report said. Between 1975 and 1995 the state was one of only four that recorded no earthquakes at all. (The others were Iowa, Wisconsin and North Dakota.)
According to the USGS’ National Seismic Hazard Model map, most of Florida has a 5% chance or lower of experiencing a damaging earthquake in the next 100 years. The chances are higher in the Panhandle at 5% to 25%.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Was that an earthquake? Residents in Polk County feel tremors
Reporting by Paul Nutcher, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Paul Nutcher, Lakeland Ledger | USA TODAY Network
