In response to a devastating earthquake, Colombia has declared a state of emergency. The powerful tremor resulted in at least 111 fatalities and caused widespread destruction, leaving many more people trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Registering at a magnitude of 7.4, the earthquake struck western Colombia late Monday, setting off a desperate race to find survivors amid the debris in several urban areas.
From the country’s capital, Bogota, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella assured the nation, saying, “The national government is utilizing all resources at its disposal to protect lives, assist affected communities, and distribute aid to every area in need.”
Having only assumed office three days ago, President Espriella reported that the catastrophe resulted in 111 deaths and injured 87 individuals, while more than 1,000 buildings suffered damage.
The earthquake’s epicenter was located in the coastal Choco region of Colombia, at a depth of 100 kilometers. This impoverished area alone reported 12 casualties, highlighting the widespread impact of the disaster.
The nearby city of Pereira was one of the worst-hit areas, with local authorities earlier announcing that at least 40 people had died in the Risaralda region of which it is the provincial capital.
The quake crumpled a tower of a beloved cathedral in the city of Manizales.
“A great many buildings” in the city sustained damage, administrative worker Jaime Zuluaga, 50, said.
“Traffic is paralysed and people don’t want to go back to their homes for fear of an aftershock.”
‘Missing people’ trapped beneath the rubble
At least 20 buildings crumbled in Colombia’s third-largest city, Cali, trapping people beneath the debris, mayor Alejandro Eder said.
Choco’s governor warned of serious damage in the provincial capital Quibdo, where videos showed more buildings reduced to rubble.
“We are all devastated,” Quibdo community leader Luis Gregorio Moreno told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
“At this moment there are reported deaths, dozens of wounded, but what there are most of are missing people,” he said.
Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela also felt the early-morning quake, which prompted building evacuations in the Colombian capital, Bogota.
Still wearing their pyjamas, crowds of people rushed out into the street upon feeling the tremor, AFP reporters saw.
“The quake was very, very strong,” said content creator Valeria Polo, 29, in the capital, where only minimal damage was recorded.
Six small airports in western Colombia suspended operations, the civil aeronautics agency said, and the soccer governing body postponed upcoming football matches.
The United States was “closely monitoring the large earthquake that struck Colombia and stands ready to support the people of Colombia,” US secretary of state Marco Rubio said in a post on X.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was “ready to provide more support” to the South American country.
“We have already mobilised Copernicus, our satellite service, to help with rescue operations,” she wrote on social media.
Mexico, Ecuador and France also offered assistance.
Latin America is already reeling from two disastrous quakes that struck Venezuela in June, killing more than 6,000 people and causing widespread destruction.