World Cup 2026: a magnitude 6.1 earthquake felt as far as Florida

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter located about 104 kilometers west-northwest of Mantua, in the Cuban province of Pinar del Río, was felt on Monday, June 8, in the early afternoon across most of Florida, particularly impacting Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The tremor, which occurred at 2:00 PM local time (6:00 PM UTC), was recorded at a depth of six miles (about ten kilometers), according to the USGS, which initially assessed the magnitude at 6.4 before revising it to 6.1. Vibrations were also felt in the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, particularly in Cancún. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center indicated that there was “no significant tsunami threat” for the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic Canada coasts, while noting that small waves remained possible in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter.

This is the second most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the Gulf, according to historical data from the USGS. Buildings were evacuated as a precaution in several counties of central Florida. Lake County closed its offices for the rest of the day before declaring them safe the following day. The USGS indicated that aftershocks were likely, although these were not expected to be widely felt in Florida given the distance from the epicenter.

The English Team Training in West Palm Beach at the Time of the Earthquake

The England national team, training for the 2026 World Cup in West Palm Beach, Florida, was shaken by the earthquake with no injuries or damages reported at their camp, according to the Indian newspaper Free Press Journal. Thomas Tuchel’s team had won 1-0 against New Zealand in Tampa on Saturday, June 6, with Harry Kane as the scorer. The day after the earthquake, Wednesday, June 10, the Three Lions will play their last friendly preparation match against Costa Rica in Orlando before heading to their permanent base in Kansas City, Missouri.

England begins its group stage campaign in the World Cup on June 17 against Croatia at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, followed by matches against Ghana on June 23 in Foxborough and Panama on June 27 in East Rutherford. The team will be based in Kansas City for the duration of the tournament, sharing training facilities with the reserve team of Sporting Kansas City.

Kansas City was also the site of a shooting on Troost Avenue the previous weekend, which injured nine people near the planned base for England. The English players were not on site at the time of the incident.

An Active Regional Seismic Context

Florida is an area where earthquakes are rarely felt, although earthquakes near Cuba are not unusual due to tectonic activity along the Caribbean and North American plate boundaries. The shallow depth of the epicenter—around ten kilometers—amplified the propagation of seismic waves over long distances.

The Oriente fault zone, located off the southeast coast of Cuba, had previously produced a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in January 2020 in open waters, which caused damage in Cuba and the Cayman Islands. The USGS issued a green alert for the June 8 earthquake, indicating a very low probability of structural damage or casualties. In Havana, witnesses reported that buildings shook and residents in the streets expressed concern, although no damage was reported.