A chilling video has surfaced, capturing the dramatic collapse of a building after a devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake rocked western Colombia on Monday. The powerful quake leveled structures across numerous cities, claiming at least 73 lives as the death toll climbed and many were trapped beneath the debris.
In the footage, the building succumbs to the tremors as onlookers watch in shock, their screams filling the air just moments before the structure gives way entirely.
Colombia’s geological service reported the earthquake’s magnitude at 7.4, occurring at a depth of 96 kilometers (approximately 60 miles). According to the U.S. tsunami warning system, there is no threat of a tsunami.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on X, “The Trump Administration is closely monitoring the large earthquake that struck Colombia and stands ready to support the people of Colombia and President @ABDELAESPRIELLA’s Administration.”
In Cali, Colombia, on August 10, 2026, residents were seen sifting through the wreckage of a collapsed building following the earthquake. (REUTERS)
“American citizens in Colombia should enroll at http://STEP.State.gov and follow @USEmbassyBogota’s social media accounts for the latest information.”
The highest reported death toll was in Pereira, a city in Colombia’s coffee-growing region, where Mayor Mauricio Salazar said 18 people had died. In nearby Manizales, Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said three people were killed.
One person died in Buenaventura, Colombia’s main Pacific port, when a building collapsed, trapping several people, Mayor Ligia del Carmen Cordoba said.
People remained trapped in Cali, one of Colombia’s largest cities, after more than two dozen structures collapsed, Mayor Alejandro Eder said. He added that the city had asked authorities in Bogota and Medellin to send disaster teams to support rescue efforts.
“At this point, two people have already been rescued alive, one elderly woman and one young girl. There are more people trapped,” Eder told Blu Radio. “We have at least 12 critical points and 25 collapsed structures that we are responding to.”
Residents and emergency personnel dig through the debris of a partially collapsed building in Pereira, Colombia, on Aug. 10, 2026. (REUTERS)
The quake’s epicenter was near San Jose del Palmar, in Choco, a sparsely populated province on Colombia’s Pacific coast. Choco Governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba-Curi said there were injuries and significant damage in Quibdo, the provincial capital, and warned residents about aftershocks.
Colombia’s civil aviation authority said flights were suspended at airports in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura while inspectors checked for structural damage.
The country’s disaster agency said the quake, which occurred at 7:34 local time (8:34 ET), was felt in nine departments and all 32 departmental capitals, triggering evacuations and reports of damage.
Residents stand outside the Cathedral of Manizales after it was damaged by an earthquake in Manizales, Colombia, on Aug. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/John Jairo Bonilla)
Reuters witnesses in the Venezuelan border state of Tachira and the central-western city of Barquisimeto reported the quake had been felt there. Venezuela was hit by devastating twin earthquakes in June, which killed more than 6,000 people, mostly on the coast near the capital, Caracas.