'Thought I Was Hungover': Tampa Bay Residents Share Earthquake Experiences

TAMPA BAY, FL — When a 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck about 65 miles off the coast of Cuba on Monday around 2 p.m., many across the Tampa Bay area and other parts of Florida reported experiencing tremors.

Some felt more pronounced shaking compared to others, while others mistook the tremors for something else.

Here are some of the experiences that Floridians shared with Patch in the aftermath.

St. Petersburg resident Beverly Banov Brown was preparing for a phone appointment when she felt her house shake.

“I immediately realized that there was [an] earthquake tremor happening,” she said. “No fear, just immediately felt gratitude that it wasn't worse, that my brand new rescue dog was virtually indifferent to the shake, and began checking the rest of the house seeing everything was undisturbed. Let's hope the more severe areas in the Caribbean are making it through with minimal stress and disruption.”

Rebecca Bryan was parked outside a Publix in Pinellas Park when the earthquake hit — but didn’t find out until later in the day what had happened.

• ALSO READ: Earthquake Felt Across FL; No Tsunami Threat

“I travel for work so I was gearing up to get back on the road. Shortly before I did, my car started wobbling significantly enough it actually concerned me that someone was wrong with my car. I’ve been having a lot of car problems lately. I could see my car wobbling side to side,” Bryan said. “To me, it felt like someone was in my passenger seat dancing wildly to my music, causing it to shake. It also kind of felt like someone was outside my car pushing it back and forth from one of the sides. My mirrors were vibrating as well. It honestly lasted for maybe a minute or two, I’m not sure, I don’t think the earthquake itself was that long but I was so freaked out that my car was about to break down that I just fastened my seatbelt and took off.”

She added, “I just found out [just before 7 p.m.] what was actually going on!! Crazy!!”

In Safety Harbor, Deborah Belcher said she felt and heard items moving on the counter near where she was sitting at her computer.

“I looked around to see if my husband might have gone out the door behind me but he wasn’t anywhere near me. About 20 minutes later our son sent a message asking if we felt the earthquake and I immediately knew that was it,” she said.

Tampa resident Valerie Smith looked outside after she felt “mild shaking.”

She said, “I saw the tallest oaks in my neighborhood swaying with no wind. I thought it must be construction or an earthquake.”

In St. Petersburg, Amy Koko said that at first she “thought [her] dog was scratching, then realized he was in the other room.”

Meanwhile, Amanda Stephens, also of St. Petersburg, said, “I thought I was just hungover. My floor was shaking in my office but just momentarily.”

And Shelly Wilson, who lives in St. Petersburg, was visiting family at their fourth-floor condo in West Palm Beach at the time of the earthquake.

“The whole building moved,” she said. “The TV wobbled back and forth, and the tremors lasted for another few minutes. I thought maybe it was construction but there isn’t any.”