A magnitude 7.4 earthquake shook much of Colombia this Monday, according to the Colombian Geological Service (SGC). The powerful tremor leaves a preliminary toll of 21 dead (18 in Pereira, two in Manizales, and one in Quibdó), several injured, three missing in Quibdó, and people trapped under the rubble of at least 20 collapsed buildings in Cali, according to its mayor.
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Authorities report severe material damage in the center and west of the country, with the most affected cities being Manizales, Cali, and Pereira.
Congresswoman Astrid Sánchez Montes de Oca has alerted EL MUNDO about the critical situation following the emergency, stating that doctors and medical support are urgently needed to attend to the multitude of injured. Likewise, the parliamentarian urged the Government to order Army overflights along the San Juan River, where there are reports of various severely affected localities.
Through a statement on X, the UNGRD reported that the epicenter of the earthquake was in the province of Chocó, on the Pacific coast. “The National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) reports a magnitude 6.6 earthquake recorded at 07:34 hours on Monday, August 10, at a depth of 79 km. The epicenter was located near San José del Palmar, Chocó,” said the UNGRD on its X account, adding that it is in contact with local authorities to verify possible damages.
Local media show fallen houses in cities such as Pereira and Manizales, in the tourist region of the Coffee Axis. “There is no electricity or cell network, it was felt very hard, very hard,” things fell from the house,” said Martha Estrada, 66, who felt the earthquake in that region.
Alejandro Eder, mayor of Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, also reported “serious damage” being monitored with drones.
President Abelardo de la Espriella announced he was traveling to the Coffee Axis to assess the situation: “I will be personally in Pereira to accompany those affected and verify the government’s response,” said De la Espriella on X, who assumed the presidency on Friday.
Most affected areas
Although the SGC initially reported a magnitude of 6.7, in a later bulletin it raised the figure to 7.4. The seismic event occurred at 07:34 local time (12:34 GMT), with the epicenter in the municipality of San José del Palmar (Chocó department) and a depth of 82 kilometers.
The tremor was strongly felt in Bogotá, Cali, Popayán, Manizales, Armenia, Pereira, and Medellín. Among the main reported damages so far are:
- Manizales: Partial collapse of facades in several buildings and structural damage in one of the cathedral towers.
- Cali: Facade detachment and cracks in numerous buildings. Mayor Alejandro Eder confirmed that, for now, no fatalities have been recorded.
- Pereira: Severe damage to multiple infrastructures (including Matecaña International Airport) and partial collapses of constructions.
- Bogotá: No serious damage recorded. Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán reported only minor cracks detected in some buildings.
The Colombian Aviation Authority confirmed damage to the infrastructures of the airports of Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura. As a safety measure, air operations at all these terminals have been temporarily suspended while the damages are evaluated.
Panama and Venezuela also affected
Several regions in eastern Panama were also shaken this Monday. The earthquake vibrations lasted between 40 seconds and one minute, according to authorities from the Geosciences Institute of the University of Panama. The movement was felt in the province of Darién, the Guna Yala comarca, and East Panama, areas near the border with Colombia.
In the Panamanian capital and its satellite cities, numerous buildings were evacuated preventively, including health centers such as the Santiago Barraza Polyclinic in La Chorrera. The population remained outside the facilities for a moment, a measure supported by rescue organizations, who asked to remain calm and return to the structures if no damage was present.
On June 24, a double earthquake of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 caused more than 6,000 deaths and destruction in neighboring Venezuela. On this occasion, Venezuelan authorities confirmed that “there are no victims or serious damages” in the border states of Táchira and Zulia. The governor of Táchira, Freddy Bernal, reported that prevention agencies are deployed evaluating infrastructure and urged the population to maintain “calm, tranquility, and coordination” in the face of possible aftershocks.
