A 7.4 magnitude earthquake with its epicenter in the northwest of Colombia has left at least 47 dead, several injured, and people trapped in collapsed buildings this Monday, in what was described by the local geological service as the largest magnitude earthquake in the country in the last decade.
In Manizales, in the department of Caldas, one of the most affected areas, there are about 12 structures partially or totally destroyed and more than 50 buildings at risk of collapse due to the facades, either because of the facades or other structural damages. There are at least two dead and one person trapped between the slabs of a building near the Catholic University of Manizales, east of the city. The tremor also caused the fall of one of the towers of the Cathedral, one of the main architectural landmarks of the city, which has reported the most damage.
“There is total chaos in mobility. The city is completely collapsed because people are leaving in their vehicles, and the population is being asked not to go out by car”, recounts Velásquez Echeverry, Colombian journalist from the TELECAFÉ channel, from Manizales. “The city center, the historic center, has been completely collapsed. Most of the buildings are practically in ruins,” he adds.
“All rescue groups, the Police, and relief organizations are preparing to attend to the situation. The Red Cross is also on the ground, whose personnel are preparing to attend to the injured,” describes this reporter. The Colombian Civil Aeronautics reported that the Manizales airport – along with those of Pereira, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura – suffered damage during the earthquake and that their air operations have been suspended to assess the “structural damage to the infrastructure.”
