A devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday morning, killing at least 111 people, injuring dozens, and leaving scores trapped beneath rubble in the nation’s strongest seismic event in a decade. The U.S. Geological Survey and Colombia’s geological service pinpointed the epicenter near San José del Palmar in the rural Chocó department, roughly 250 miles west of Bogotá, at a depth of about 66 miles. Severe shaking rocked major urban centers across the country’s western corridor and was felt across neighboring Ecuador and Panama.
Casualties mounted rapidly across several western departments, with Risaralda reporting 40 deaths, primarily centered in its capital, Pereira, where building facades collapsed into dust clouds. In Valle del Cauca, where 27 fatalities were confirmed, more than two dozen structures caved in across Cali, forcing medical staff to wheel hospital patients into open streets. In Manizales, one of the towers of a historic neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed onto the main sanctuary. Recounting the trauma as dust filled the sky, Cali resident Jorge Moncayo said, “My entire house shook. I’ve never lived through such a powerful earthquake.”
Faced with his administration’s first major crisis just days after taking office, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella declared a national disaster to expedite emergency funding and streamline relief efforts. Emergency personnel and local residents searched through collapsed structures by hand while heavy equipment was dispatched to the hardest-hit zones. In a public address, President de la Espriella promised direct government action, stating, “We aren’t going to leave people alone. They are in our hearts and we are going to tend to people with our full determination,” while telling citizens, “To Colombians going through difficult times today, I want to say: you are not alone.”
While minimal destruction was reported in Ecuador, the quake prompted widespread evacuations in Bogotá and led the civil aeronautics authority to suspend operations at seven regional airports. Describing the moment the tremor hit the capital, resident Valeria Polo noted, “The quake was very, very strong,” as municipal emergency crews deployed aerial drones to inspect structural safety. Offers of international support followed quickly, with neighboring governments in Ecuador, Brazil, and Mexico preparing specialized rescue personnel and equipment to aid recovery operations.
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