A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit western Colombia on August 10, 2026, killing at least 47 people, trapping dozens of others in their homes, forcing many people to evacuate their homes as far as the capital of Bogotá.
Earthquake Hits Choco Region
The epicenter of the quake was in San Jose Del Palmar. It’s a community of roughly 4,800 residents in the Choco region about 250 miles west of Bogotá, the U.S. Geological Survey and Colombia’s counterpart reported. Furthermore, the USGS reported the earthquake hit at a depth of 66 miles and was felt in Panama and Ecuador, however, not as strong.
Local officials confirmed that two individuals were killed in the city of Manizales, at least 18 people had been killed in the city of Pereira, and 27 individuals in the Valle del Cauca department, where Colombia’s third-biggest city, Cali, is located. Furthermore, of the 27 in Valle del Cauca three of them were children, reported the governor.
The cities ravaged by the earthquake were Pereira, Quibdo, Cali, and Manizales. Search teams and residents joined forces as they picked through the rubble of collapsed buildings looking for anyone else caught amongst the debris. Concerns of aftershocks weigh heavily on the minds of the authorities.
One survivor, 64-year-old Jorge Moncayo, said he saw plumes of dust shoot up across the city from his home in hills of the city as buildings collapsed. “My entire house shook. I’ve never lived through such a powerful earthquake,” Moncayo said. “We’re thanking god we’re alive.”
Powerful Quake
Colombia’s Geological Service said that the earthquake had been “the highest magnitude earthquake registered in Colombia in the last decade.” Furthermore, the 7.4 magnitude earthquake was followed by 2.8 and 4.8 aftershocks.
Moreover, there are also reports that flights were suspended in the airports of Armenia, Cartago y Buenaventura, Manizales, Pereira, and Quibdo.
These latest earthquakes come on the heels of two back-to-back quakes that devasted Colombia’s neighbor, Venezuela in late June that destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed more than 5,000 individuals. At the same time the quake brought down buildings in Colombia, desperate families in Venezuela continued to search the ruins for the bodies of their loved ones, according to AP News.
In Pereira, videos and images published by local media showed pieces of the airport ceiling falling down on travelers taking shelter and screaming, and people running through rubble in a panic.
Pereira’s mayor, Mauricio Salazar, told a local radio station that at least 18 individuals had passed away and that many more were trapped under “a massive quantity of collapsed buildings.”
Manizales’ mayor, Jorge Eduardo Rojas said that two individuals had lost their lives in “because of the quake” and advised residents to stay outside in case of aftershocks.
Authorities located in the epicenter of the earthquake, the state of Choco, has provided some injuries and damaged buildings but otherwise little details.
Cali’s mayor, Aljandro Eder stated that residents were trapped in at least 19 collapsed buildings.
Colombia’s newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella said that he had personally taken charge of the government’s response to the emergency in San José del Palmar following the earthquake that struck the country.
“You are not alone. The state is present and taking action,” he said.
By Sheena
AP News: 47 dead and buildings collapsed after 7.4-magnitude earthquake shakes western Colombia
Image by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Courtesy of Flickr – Creative Commons
