Current data from the Colombian authorities and the Colombian Association of Capital Cities, quoted by world agencies as of 3:50 a.m. on August 11, confirm the scale of the huge disaster that struck the western part of the country.
The death toll after the devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake has already reached 132 people and the injured are at least 570 people. Hundreds of citizens remain missing, with many believed to be trapped under the rubble.
What happened: Epicenter and strength of the quake
The earthquake struck on the morning of August 10 at 7:34 a.m. local time. According to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Colombian Geological Survey (SGC), the epicenter was recorded about 5 kilometers east of the city of San José del Palmar in the department of Choco. The depth of the focus is between 96 and 107 kilometers, but despite the great depth, the specific horizontal slip of the earth masses increased the destructive force of the earthquake in the populated valleys.
Official authorities announced that this was the strongest earthquake recorded in Colombia in the last century. The earthquake was felt extremely strongly in the capital Bogota, as well as in neighboring countries Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.
Devastation and affected areas
The most severe material damage was in the departments of Risaralda, Valle del Cauca, Chocó and Caldas.
- City of Pereira: Mayor Mauricio Salazar declared a critical situation with numerous collapsed apartment blocks.
- Cali City: Rescue teams and volunteers are clearing the rubble of a partially collapsed hospital and more than 19 buildings with their bare hands, where patients and residents are trapped.
- City of Manizales: The earthquake destroyed one of the towers of the city's iconic neo-Gothic cathedral, which fell directly onto its main nave.
The Colombian Civil Aviation Authority immediately suspended flights at six regional airports (including those in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo and Armenia) due to damage to infrastructure and to inspect the runways.
The authorities' response: State of emergency
Colombia's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office just three days before the tragedy, declared a national state of disaster. This measure allows the government to directly redirect state funds and bypass bureaucratic procedures for rapid relief.
“The state's top priority at this time is saving lives under the rubble,“ the president said in an emergency address. Vice President José Manuel Restrepo traveled to the affected regions in person to coordinate a unified rescue headquarters.
International aid
The disaster has sparked a wave of international sympathy, especially after neighboring Venezuela was hit hard by earthquakes in June of the same year. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington was providing $15.5 million in emergency humanitarian aid for food and shelter. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that the EU had already activated its Copernicus satellite system to help rescuers on the ground. Colombian pop stars Shakira and Carole G also expressed solidarity and began mobilizing funds through their charitable foundations.
Rescue operations continue uninterrupted, despite more than 20 aftershocks and the increased risk of further collapses.