Revealed On 10 Aug 2026
At the least 47 folks have been killed and dozens of buildings have collapsed in cities throughout western Colombia after a strong magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the South American nation.
The quake on Monday trapped residents underneath particles, injured many extra and compelled folks to flee their houses as far-off because the capital, Bogota.
The epicentre was close to San Jose del Palmar, a group of about 4,800 folks within the Choco area, roughly 250 miles (400km) west of Bogota, in accordance with america Geological Survey (USGS) and Colombia’s geological service. The USGS mentioned the earthquake struck at a depth of 66 miles (107km). Tremors have been additionally felt in neighbouring Ecuador.
The quake left cities throughout western Colombia, together with Pereira, Quibdo, Cali and Manizales, badly broken, with residents choosing via the rubble of collapsed buildings amid official warnings of potential aftershocks.
The Colombian Geological Service mentioned it was “the highest-magnitude earthquake registered in Colombia within the final decade” and that it was adopted by two aftershocks of magnitude 2.8 and 4.8 on the Richter scale.
Small earthquakes, recognized domestically as “temblores”, are frequent in central and western Colombia, however quakes above magnitude 6.0 are uncommon. In 1999, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake close to the town of Armenia killed greater than 1,100 folks.
Colombia’s newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella mentioned on Monday that he had personally taken cost of the federal government’s response to the emergency in San Jose del Palmar following the earthquake.
