Colombia is in a state of national emergency after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck the country on Monday morning. This killed at least 132 people, injuring more than 480, and leaving survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings across multiple cities.
The quake hit at 07:34 local time, originating at a depth of 103 kilometres near the village of San José del Palmar in Chocó province. It was felt across hundreds of miles of western Colombia, with tremors reaching neighbouring Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama.
President Abelardo de la Espriella, who had only taken office on Friday, declared a national disaster and confirmed that more than 1,500 homes had been damaged. The declaration grants special emergency powers, including the ability to reallocate government budgets toward the relief effort.
The worst damage has concentrated in Pereira, roughly 55 kilometres from the epicentre, in Colombia’s coffee-growing region. At least 40 people have died in the city’s metropolitan area alone. Sixty-five buildings collapsed there, with people believed to be trapped in fifteen of them. A curfew was imposed in parts of the city through Tuesday morning. Verified footage from the BBC shows at least one building collapsing in Plaza Bolívar, the city’s main square, as dust and debris scattered across the open space.
More Fatalities
In Cali, approximately 160 kilometres south of Pereira, 32 buildings collapsed. Dan Cutler, a 29-year-old British traveller staying in the city, told the BBC he was woken by the shaking.
“I’ve never experienced anything like it,” he said.
“We sprinted outside in our pyjamas. There are surface cracks in the walls, and paint and plaster have peeled off.”
Deaths were also reported in Manizales, Quibdó, and Medellín, as well as across the Chocó and Valle del Cauca regions. Colombia’s aviation authority confirmed damage at several regional airports including those in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura. In Bogotá, trees and traffic lights shook violently. No serious structural damage to the capital has been reported so far.
Angélica Ávila, who was staying in a hotel in Manizales, described the moment of impact.
“Everyone was screaming. I saw dust coming out of the neighbouring buildings, and bricks were falling off the walls,” she told the BBC World Service.
International Response
International support has begun to arrive. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was closely monitoring the situation and stood ready to assist. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the EU’s Copernicus satellite was already being used in rescue operations. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele offered personnel and equipment.
The US Geological Survey estimated that approximately 1.5 million people felt shaking close to magnitude seven. The quake comes less than two months after twin earthquakes killed more than 6,300 people in neighbouring Venezuela.
Colombia is still counting its dead. Rescue teams are still pulling at the rubble. The full scale of Monday’s disaster has not yet been established.
