Earthquake Felt in Florida

BEYOND WHAT YOU SEE BETWEEN THE LINES. HELLO, I'M JENNIFER CRAWFORD. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. TREMORS WERE FELT ACROSS SOUTHWEST FLORIDA THIS PAST MONDAY AFTER A STRONG EARTHQUAKE STRUCK OFF THE COAST OF CUBA. THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SAYS THE 6.1 MAGNITUDE QUAKE IS THE LARGEST TO IMPACT WESTERN CUBA IN NEARLY 150 YEARS TREMORS WERE FELT FROM CANCUN, MEXICO ALL THE WAY UP THE GULF COAST OF FLORIDA. THE USGS EVEN SAYING IT RECEIVED REPORTS FROM PEOPLE IN JACKSONVILLE, NO INJURIES OR DAMAGES WERE REPORTED. BUT QUESTIONS LINGER ABOUT THE PROXIMITY OF THE AT THE CENTER TO THE UNITED STATES. >> FOR MORE ON EARTHQUAKES IN THE GULF. I'M NOW JOINED BY DOCTOR RAYMOND RUSSO. >> HE IS A GEO PHYSICS PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA'S DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES. >> DOCTOR RUSSO, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY. >> THANKS FOR HAVING ME. I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE. COMES UP WITH DOCTOR A SMALLER 4.3 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE HAS REALLY GOOD TUESDAY NIGHT NEAR CUBA. JUST ONE DAY. >> AFTER THE 6.0, ONE MAGNITUDE QUAKE WAS FELT BY MANY PEOPLE IN FLORIDA, INCLUDING SOME HERE IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. NOW THIS IS REPORTED TO BE THE LARGEST EVER RECORDED AND CLOSE TO FLORIDA. HOW RARE IS IT TO HAVE AN EARTHQUAKE IN THIS PART OF THE GULF? >> LIKE YOU SAID, IT'S THE ONLY ONE WE KNOW ABOUT. AND THE LET'S LET'S BE CLEAR. WE'VE ONLY BEEN RECORDING EARTHQUAKES WITH GOOD FIDELITY TO LOCATION FOR ABOUT 50 YEARS. SO, YOU KNOW, PRIOR TO THAT, THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN EARTHQUAKES OUT THERE THAT WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT. CERTAINLY HISTORICALLY, THERE MUST HAVE BEEN EARTHQUAKES OUT THERE THAT WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT. THIS IS A HIGHLY UNUSUAL EVENT. YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOT THERE'S NOT PRECEDENT. CERTAINLY THERE'S NO RECORDED SIZE OF A CITY IN THIS AREA THAT WE KNOW ABOUT. SO VERY UNUSUAL. >> HOW COMMON TO FEEL THE EFFECT FROM AN EARTHQUAKE. >> FOR EXAMPLE, IN 2006, THERE WAS AN EARTHQUAKE THAT WAS JUST OFF THE COAST OF LOUISIANA, ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, THERE. THAT WAS ALMOST A MAGNITUDE 6. AND I FELT THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE FELT THAT IN FLORIDA. SO, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST TWICE IN THE LAST 20 YEARS HAS BEEN THERE'S BEEN SOME ACTIVITY THAT HAS BEEN FELT. I'VE HEARD ANECDOTALLY THAT PEOPLE HAVE FELT IN FLORIDA, EARTHQUAKES, BIG, HUGE EARTHQUAKES FROM SOUTH AMERICA. VERY DEEP. BACK IN 1994. BUT, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY NOTHING CLOSE LIKE THESE. >> CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHERE THIS WAS LOCATED EXACTLY IN THE GULF AND WHY IT'S SO UNUSUAL? >> YES, SO THE EARTHQUAKE HAPPENED IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE GULF. JUST OFF THE COAST OF CUBA, THE WESTERN COAST OF CUBA AND A LITTLE BIT TO THE NORTHEAST OF YUCATAN IN THE YUCATAN CHANNEL. AND THAT'S A LOCATION WHERE WE HAVEN'T RECORDED ANY SIZE MEAN CITY. AS I WAS SAYING EARLIER, IT IS WELL NORTH OF THE PLATE BOUNDARY BETWEEN NORTH AMERICA. SO THIS IS WELL INSIDE A NORTH AMERICAN PLATE. AND THE CARIBBEAN PLATE, WHICH LIES TO THE SOUTH. THAT'S ABOUT, YOU KNOW, 300 MILES AWAY WITH A PLATE BOUNDARY ACTUALLY IS TODAY. SO THE LOCATION FOR AN EARTHQUAKE LIKE THIS AND HAD A STRANGE. IT HAD A STRANGE FALL MECHANISM. I'M NOT REALLY EASILY CORRELATED WITH ANY KIND OF MOTIONS THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON BETWEEN THE CARIBBEAN AND NORTH AMERICA EITHER. SO, YOU KNOW, FAR FROM THE ZONE OF EXPECTATIONS FOR EARTHQUAKES, AN ODD SAID A FAULT MOTIONS TO. >> WHAT DO YOU THINK EXPLAINS IT. >> WELL, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. AND I THINK WE YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY HARD TO SAY. THE EARTHQUAKE SHOWED THAT THE THE THE SHALLOW PART OF THE EARTH IN THIS AREA IS UNDER COMPRESSION IS BEING SQUEEZED FROM SOMETHING AND BECAUSE WE'RE WELL WITHIN THE PLAY, IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE WHAT COULD ACTUALLY BE DOING THAT SQUEEZING, YOU KNOW, FAR-FIELD SOME FROM FROM VERY FAR AWAY, MAYBE STRESSES ARE TRANSMITTED TO THIS PARTICULAR LOCATION. BUT WHY IT FEELS AND AND FAILS IN THIS PARTICULAR WAYS. IT'S KIND OF REALLY ON ON CORRELATED WITH ANYTHING THAT WE CAN. WE CAN LINK TO NORTON UNDERSTAND. WELL. >> COULD YOU TALK ABOUT HOW THE LOCATION OF THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE THAT WAS DEVASTATING TO HAITI AND 2021. >> SURE, YOU KNOW, HAITI EARTHQUAKE WAS ACTUALLY IN THE PLATE BOUNDARY ZONE BETWEEN NORTH AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN PLATE. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS ENTIRELY EXPECTED. PLATE BOUNDARIES ALWAYS TAKING UP MOTION BETWEEN NORTH AMERICA, WHICH IS MOVING ONE WAY AND THE CARIBBEAN PLAY, WHICH IS MOVING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. THERE. AND EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, WHAT HAPPENS IS THE MOTIONS BUILDUP, STRESS AND STRAIN IN THE PLAY BOUNDARIES ON EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. THE STRAIN ACTUALLY LIKE OVERCOME THE STRENGTH OF THE LOCKS WEEK AND THEY FAIL AND YOU GET AN EARTHQUAKE. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE 2010 EARTHQUAKE WAS COMPLETELY EXPECTED. THIS EARTHQUAKE IS VERY FAR AWAY FROM THERE AND IS VERY WORK FAR AWAY FROM THE PLATE BOUNDARIES ON TOO. SO WE DON'T HAVE A GOOD CONCEPTUAL CONTEXT FOR WHY THIS PARTICULAR EARTHQUAKE IS HAPPENING, WHERE IT IS AND HOW IT HAPPENED. >> IN FLORIDA NOW, SHOULD WE BE MORE AWARE WATCHING FOR NATURAL OCCURRENCES AS A RESULT OF THE 6.0? ONE QUAKE LIKE SINKHOLES ARE THINGS LIKE THAT. THAT COULD HAPPEN. STILL. >> WELL, I THINK 6.1 FOR THE LOCATION OF THIS PARTICULAR EARTHQUAKE. IT'S NOT LIKELY TO HAVE CAUSED A LOT OF DAMAGE OR OR, YOU KNOW, SINKHOLE FORMATION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. CLOSER AND LARGER MAGNITUDE WOULD CERTAINLY DO IT. AND FOR ME, THE MOST WORRISOME THING ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR EARTHQUAKE IS. IT HAD THE POTENTIAL. IT WAS A LITTLE BIT SHALLOW AND IT HAD THE POTENTIAL TO ACTUALLY DISRUPT THE SEA FLOOR. BUT IT WASN'T VERY BIG. SO A LARGER EARTHQUAKE, A LARGER MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE. WITH THE SAME STYLE OF MOTION IN THAT LOCATION COULD CAUSE A TSUNAMI. AND THE TSUNAMI CAN ACTUALLY BE VERY DAMAGING, EVEN IF THE WAVES DON'T, YOU KNOW, CAUSE CASUALTIES OFTEN. WHAT WILL HAPPEN IS, YOU KNOW, MARINAS AND COASTAL INSTALLATIONS WILL BE NO SUBJECTED TO A WAVE OF A METER OR 2. AND THAT CAN CAUSE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF DAMAGE. SO THAT WOULD BE FOR ME, THE MAIN CONCERN ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR EARTHQUAKE IN TERMS OF HAZARD REPEAT AT A LARGER MAGNITUDE. ALSO SHALLOW IN THE GULF. COULD BE A BIG PROBLEM. >> ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU