CALI, Colombia – A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 111 people, injuring 87 and damaging about 1,600 buildings as residents, emergency workers and volunteers searched damaged structures for survivors. President Abelardo de la Espriella declared an emergency to accelerate funding for recovery and said he would travel to the affected region.
The earthquake affected several cities, including Cali, Pereira, Quibdó and Manizales, and was felt in neighboring Ecuador and Panama. The U.S. Geological Survey placed the epicenter about 5 kilometers east of San José del Palmar in the Chocó region, roughly 400 kilometers west of Bogotá, at a depth of about 107 kilometers.
The disaster has created a major search-and-rescue and humanitarian challenge, particularly in Chocó, where mountainous terrain, dense jungle and limited transportation infrastructure can make access difficult. Communications outages in parts of the region have also complicated efforts to assess the full extent of the damage.
Rescue operations continue in damaged cities
In Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, residents and rescue workers searched through collapsed structures, moving concrete and debris through lines of volunteers.
The city’s local government said people remained trapped in some of the 380 buildings reported damaged. Families also began registering missing relatives through digital databases, with one database listing more than 1,400 people by Monday afternoon, primarily from Cali and Pereira.
Local authorities reported at least 40 deaths in Risaralda, where Pereira is located, and 27 in Valle del Cauca, where Cali is located, including three children. Nine deaths were reported in Chocó, two in Caldas and one involving a 73-year-old person in Antioquia. The locations of the remaining 32 deaths were not immediately clear.
The continuing search for missing people means the casualty figures could change as emergency crews gain access to damaged buildings and isolated communities.
Remote Chocó region complicates assessment
The earthquake’s epicenter was near San José del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the mountainous Chocó region. The area is among Colombia’s poorer regions and includes communities that can be reached only by boat or aircraft.
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Authorities reported injuries and structural damage in Chocó but had limited information about the broader impact. Phone service was unavailable in parts of Quibdó, the regional capital, further restricting communication with affected communities.
San José del Palmar has no airport and sits along a mountain ridge on the highway connecting Cali and Pereira. The geography and limited infrastructure could make it difficult for emergency agencies to reach some communities and establish the full scale of the disaster.
Colombia’s Geological Service said the earthquake was the country’s strongest recorded in the 21st century. The quake was followed by 21 smaller aftershocks, according to the agency.
The epicenter lies within Colombia’s Pacific region, part of the broader Pacific Ring of Fire, where seismic activity is common. Earthquakes above magnitude 6 are comparatively rare in central and western Colombia.
Damage reported across major cities
Cali suffered widespread structural damage as buildings collapsed and residents moved into the streets. Rescue workers continued searching rubble for people who may have been trapped.
Pereira, in Colombia’s coffee-producing region, also reported extensive damage. Local media footage showed parts of the airport ceiling falling as travelers sought shelter, while collapsed stores, homes and residential buildings were reported across the city.
Pereira Mayor Mauricio Salazar told local radio that at least 15 buildings had collapsed and that people were feared trapped inside.
In Manizales, one of the towers of the city’s neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed onto the nave. Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas urged residents to remain outside because of the possibility of additional shaking.
Authorities suspended flights at airports in Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, Buenaventura and Pereira while damage assessments were carried out.
The earthquake was also felt outside Colombia, including in Ecuador and Panama, extending the reach of the seismic event beyond the areas where the most severe damage was reported.
International assistance offered after quake
The earthquake came shortly after de la Espriella was sworn in as Colombia’s president, making the disaster one of the first major tests of his administration’s emergency response.
The president said he had taken personal charge of the government’s response as authorities coordinated search-and-rescue operations, medical assistance, emergency support and recovery funding.
The United States announced $15.5 million in emergency assistance for shelter, food and other earthquake-response needs, according to the U.S. State Department. Governments across Latin America also offered assistance.
The international response could become increasingly important if additional casualties are discovered or if isolated communities remain cut off from government services.
For now, rescue teams are continuing to search damaged structures while authorities assess infrastructure, restore communications and determine the needs of affected communities. The number of missing people and the condition of remote areas remain among the key uncertainties as Colombia’s emergency response continues.
This report is based on reporting by The Associated Press.
