The Daytona Beach earthquake that rumbled offshore the Florida seaside playground on Saturday registered a magnitude 3.7, according to the
U.S. Geological Survey, and there were no reports of injuries or damage.
The earthquake hit about 4 p.m., about three miles under the ocean floor and 104 mileseast of Daytona Beach Shores.
The Miami Herald said there were no reports of any impact on the Florida coast.
The
Daytona Beach News-Journal noted that while Florida is not a hotbed of earthquake activity, the state has seen "several minor shocks," with one causing damage.
"A shock occurred near St. Augustine, in the northeast part of the state, in January 1879," wrote the News-Journal. "The nation's oldest permanent settlement, founded by Spain in 1565, reported that heavy shaking knocked plaster from walls and articles from shelves. Similar effects were noted at Daytona Beach, 50 miles south."
The
Florida Department of Environmental Protection website said the state sits on the trailing, or passive, margin of the North American Plate while California is located on its active margin.
"The active margin is bounded by faults that generate earthquakes when there is movement along them. This is the fundamental reason that Florida has an extremely low incidence of earthquakes while California experiences many (mostly small) earthquakes," wrote the department.
A magnitude-4.0 earthquake can cause moderate damage and a magnitude-5.0 can cause considerable damage, according to the
Orlando Sentinel.
Many took the off-shore earthquake with a sense of humor on social media.
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