Offshore earthquake rumbles across Space Coast hours before rocket launch
A rare magnitude 4.0 earthquake rattled to life about 100 miles east of Cape Canaveral Wednesday night, according to the U.S. Geological Survey — just hours before a major overnight launch took place at the Cape.
No tsunami alerts were issued. The earthquake happened about 10:48 p.m. and had a shallow depth of about 6 miles, the federal agency reported.
Because the earthquake took place close to the surface of the ocean floor, there were reports that the moderate quake was felt by some residents from Merritt Island to Palm Bay. Some residents took to social media to report the odd rattling and thought perhaps a launch had taken place early.
NASA's PACE spacecraft launched at 1:33 a.m. atop a Falcon 9 spacecraft from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, sending a rumble across the Space Coast followed by the sonic boom with the booster's return.
What to know: After 4.0 earthquake east of Cape Canaveral, should Florida be concerned?
The last earthquake felt in the region happened in June 2016 off Florida's coast. The earthquake registered at 3.7 magnitude and took place about 156 miles east, northeast of Daytona Beach. That was later determined, however, to be the result of testing by the U.S. Navy.
There were no reports of any injuries.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida earthquake hits about 100 miles off Cape Canaveral
