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!’

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. 

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. 

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.  

A North Carolina woman who vanished during a Caribbean getaway with friends may have tragically drowned, her husband revealed.

Elizabeth “Liz” Waddell, 43, disappeared from Grenada on July 22. According to her husband, her last known location was in the ocean, spotted by a group of jet skiers.

Cailen Waddell, Liz’s husband, provided an update on FindLiz.com. He mentioned that the jet skiers attempted for several minutes to persuade her to board a jet ski instead of staying in the water.

Cailen detailed, “They spent five to ten minutes engaging with her, encouraging her to accompany them back to shore on a jet ski rather than remain in the open sea. Reportedly, she assured them, ‘I’m a good swimmer,’ and gave a thumbs-up in response.”

He has been releasing information on his wife’s case using the website her family created.

The conversation with the jet skiers allegedly happened around 5:30 p.m. on July 22, the day she was reported missing to the Royal Grenada Police Force.

“I am grieving her absence and the loss of her in my daily life right now, understanding that it is incredibly likely she is gone and hoping that the investigation will offer more clarity as to what happened,” Waddell said.

Waddell traveled to Grenada to join search efforts to find her two days after she was reported missing. He returned to the U.S. a week later, following an unsuccessful search.

Surveillance video from a nearby Airbnb property recorded the possible moment Liz entered the water that day; a person appearing to be Waddell is seen walking near a pool and holding a towel.

Next, she appears to jump in the water off of a dock, then swims out of frame.

Despite drones, dive teams and dogs, search efforts by law enforcement for any trace of Liz have come up dry.

Police are still treating her disappearance as a missing persons case. Her husband is still holding on to hope.

“If Liz walked out of the jungle tomorrow and said, ‘Hey, where’s my passport?’ I’d not be surprised and obviously get on a plane and go get her in a heartbeat,” he said.

In a tragic turn of events, the climbing community mourns the loss of Jake Whisenant, renowned for his lightning-fast ascent of Yosemite’s legendary El Capitan. He passed away at the young age of 30.

The untimely accident took place in the Sierra Nevada on August 3rd, as confirmed by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.

Details surrounding Whisenant’s passing, a native of Mammoth Lakes in California, remain sparse at this time.

Tributes have been paid by the likes of Bailee Moore, Whisenant’s ‘lifelong friend.’ She wrote on social media: ‘It is with an impossibly heavy heart that I share the passing of my lifelong friend and confidant – Jacob Daniel Whisenant.

“Our family is utterly heartbroken at this news,” shared a family representative, “but we find comfort knowing Jake was in his element when he left us, amidst the breathtaking Sierra Nevada.”

Social media was overwhelmed with heartfelt condolences and tributes. “I’ve been in tears all day,” one message read, while another admirer added, “Jake was truly one of my most cherished friends.”

‘Many of my favorite days in the mountains were with him. I so admired his strength, his grace, his thoughtfulness, and relentless optimism. Can’t believe he’s gone.’

Whisenant hit the headlines in October 2024 when, alongside Brant Hysell, he took on El Capitan – the iconic summit in Yosemite National Park, which stretches 3,000ft into the sky and features the world’s tallest exposed vertical face of granite.

Whisenant and Hysell scaled the Lurking Fear route in just two hours, 55 minutes and 32 seconds. 

Together they broke the previous speed record – held by Yuji Hirayama and Nick Fowler – by nearly ten minutes.

‘A truly magical day that I’ll never forget,’ Whisenant said at the time on social media. ‘We both tapped into a flow state, fully committed to our plan, and most importantly, had an absolute blast on our favorite rock. 

‘We had perfect weather for a shirtless ascent and the entire route to ourselves.’

The 30-year-old detailed many of his adventures on Instagram and as recently as July 15, Whisenant was posting pictures from his climbs in the Sierra Nevada.

Noah Fox, who scaled El Capitan with Whisenant in May, wrote on Instagram: ‘I had the privilege of climbing with Jake these past few months and these are memories I will cherish for the rest of my life.’ 

According to Fox, he and Whisenant ‘claimed an El Cap speed record’ and ‘climbed from the ground to the summit twice in 14:38.’ 

Moore responded to his tribute with a poignant message of her own. ‘Based on what I saw, he cherished that time too,’ she wrote. ‘Take care of yourself and never stop doing your thing in his honor.’ 

In one of Whisenant’s final social media posts, he documented a recent trip to the Kings-Kern Divide, a six-mile-long ridge in California, where he spent four days skiing, climbing and sleeping alone in ‘raw, rugged, classic High Sierra terrain.’

‘I had a truly life-enhancing experience out there, gaining confidence with each new ridge scrambled, basin traversed, and ski line descended,’ he wrote on social media at the time. 

In a series of photos and videos, the 30-year-old showed off spectacular sunrises and scenery as well as his sleeping bag laid out beside a rock in the darkness.

‘By the end of my short stay, I summited [eight] 13,500+ peaks via new-to-me scrambles, and skied a fun line off each. 

‘I felt sad hiking out, wishing for more time to explore and enjoy the simple mountain lifestyle.’

It felt like a Shake Shack snafu for one customer.

In an age where “guilt tipping” seems to be spreading like wildfire, a frustrated patron has claimed that Shake Shack hiked up their bill after choosing not to tip at a self-service kiosk.

“My wife suggests that if you skip tipping at Shake Shack, they charge more per item,” said TikTok user B.D. Powell in a viral video that has garnered an impressive 4.2 million views.

Intrigued and skeptical, Powell decided to put this notion to the test. He ordered three classic shakes — vanilla, cookies & cream, and strawberry — at a Shake Shack located in Salt Lake City’s airport.

Efforts were made to reach out to Shake Shack for their take on the situation.

They cost $5.99 each according to the order screen.

The automated check-out then took them to the tip screen, where they were offered 15%, 18%, and 20% gratuity options as well as the choice to leave “no tip.”

But when Powell selected the latter — as is common at self-service outlets — all hell broke loose.

The screen displayed the message, “Uh Oh! There has been a pricing update on one or more of your cart items. Please review these changes in your cart.”

Upon obliging, the three shakes now showed prices of $6.49 each — total price increase of $1.50.

“Everything just went up fifty cents,” lamented Powell, who warned viewers to “not go” to Shake Shack.

Viewers were appalled over this alleged dirty tactic. “How is this legal?” wondered one commenter.

“It’s already too expensive to be worth it,” lamented another. “Forcing an extra charge is a deal breaker. I will never go there.”

“Tipping culture in the US has reached an intolerable toxic limit,” said a third.

However, others claimed that the customer had failed to establish a causal link with one Redditor noting, “you didn’t show what happens to the pricing when you do leave a tip.”

Meanwhile others accused Powell of skullduggery, claiming that he’d made a normal time-based price change look like a no-tip penalty.

“Pretty sure I saw this in a different sub, and people were saying the price increased because shake shack has a late night convenience fee past a certain time, and the people videoing timed the price change to make it look like a tip issue,” theorized one viewer.

Shake Shack has since denied that they were scam-burgering patrons.

“Thank you for bringing this to our attention,” they wrote in the TikTok comments, which have since been disabled. “This is not a Shake Shack policy, and we’re currently looking into it with our licensee, HMSHost, that operates the Salt Lake City airport location and kiosk system.”