Colombia has been rocked by a devastating earthquake, leaving numerous individuals trapped under the rubble of fallen buildings.
According to Colombia’s geological service, the powerful tremor struck at 7:30 am local time (1:30 pm UK time), registering a magnitude of 7.4 and reaching a depth of 60 miles.
The epicenter was pinpointed in San Jose Del Palmar, situated roughly 250 miles west of Bogota, the capital. This quake marks the most significant seismic event Colombia has experienced in a decade.
Heartbreaking videos from around the country depict building facades collapsing and desperate residents struggling to stay upright as the earth violently shook.
The tremors were felt far beyond Colombia, reaching as far as Ecuador and Panama to the north, as well as Venezuela, which recently endured its own seismic challenges, leading to swift evacuations in Bogota.
18 people in the city of Periera died following the earthquakes, while in Manizales, west of Bogota, at least two people were killed.
In Cali, a city of 2.3million people in Colombia’s west, at least 20 buildings collapsed following the earthquake.
Hospitals in Cali were forced to evacuate their patients. Rows of elderly people on hospital beds were seen outside.
In Choco, residents were seen running for their lives as entire buildings collapsed around them.
As two men were seen picking up a woman who had fallen, a man was screaming: ‘Oh my God!’
People run out of the hospital building during an earthquake in Cali, Colombia, on August 10, 2026
In Choco, residents were seen running for their lives as entire buildings collapsed around them
Footage showed one of the spires of Manizales Cathedral collapsing in the earthquake
President Abelardo de la Espriella announced the establishment of an emergency centre at the epicentre to support those affected, adding: ‘You are not alone. You have a President who cares deeply for his people and who will do everything necessary to protect you, support you, and move forward together in rebuilding the affected regions.’
Choco governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba-Curi said on X: ‘We have just experienced a major earthquake in the department of Choco. We are concerned about aftershocks.
‘Although the epicentre was near San Jose del Palmar, there are injuries and significant damage to buildings in the capital, Quibdo. We are already carrying out a damage assessment and will issue the first official report shortly.’
The governor of neighbouring Risaralda province, Juan Diego Patino, told local Blu Radio there was ‘serious damage to some buildings’ in Pereira, the provincial capital.
‘What has just occurred is very severe. The images are truly shocking, with people injured and building facades collapsed,’ he said.
Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management said it was in contact with local authorities to verify potential damage.
Bogota’s mayor, Carlos Galan, said on X there was no major damage in the capital.
In Cali, a large crowd of people were seen gathered around the wreckage of a collapsed building.
They were seen frantically trying to pull pieces of rubble away to reach people trapped underneath.
Reuters witnesses in the Venezuelan border state of Tachira and the central-western city of Barquisimeto reported the quake had been felt there.
Footage showed one of the spires of Manizales Cathedral collapsing in the earthquake, leaving it leaning heavily on the roof of the building.
Patients are evacuated outside a hospital after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia, on August 10, 2026.
Vehicles damaged by a collapsed wall are seen following an earthquake in Cali, Colombia, August 10 2026
Following the quake UAEAC, the country’s aviation authority, said flights from six airports had been suspended.
UAEAC said damage was reported at the airports of Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura.
‘There is no electricity or cell phone coverage. It was strong, really strong. Things fell in my house,’ Martha Estrada, a 66 year old resident of the Eje Cafetero region told AFP.
Following the earthquake, Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar wrote on X: ‘We are following with concern the news about the earthquake that has struck Colombia. I have offered my counterpart, Colombia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Omar Bula, all the assistance that Israel can provide.
‘Israel is prepared to help Colombia in whatever is needed. My thoughts and prayers are with the Colombian people in these difficult times.’
Venezuela was hit by devastating twin earthquakes in June, which killed more than 6,000 people, mostly on the coast near the capital, Caracas.
Earthquakes are common in Colombia due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a tectonic belt where the Earth’s plates meet.
Colombia’s geological service said the magnitude of the quake, which struck at 7.30am local time (1.30pm UK time), was 7.4 and that its depth was 60 miles
Vehicles damaged by a collapsed wall are seen following an earthquake in Cali, Colombia, August 10 2026
About 90 per cent of the world’s largest earthquakes occur within the belt.
The southeastern and easternmost areas of Colombia are not as seismically active as the rest of the country.
Colombia’s most devastating earthquake happened in August 1868, off the coast of Equador, and killed about 70,000 people.
More to follow.