7.4 Magnitude earthquake hits western Colombia, killing at least 111 people

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, Aug 11 killing at least 111 people, damaging hundreds of buildings and leaving many trapped under debris while their loved ones and rescue workers searched through the rubble.

Colombia's President Abelardo de la Espriella said at least 87 people were injured and declared an emergency to expedite funding for the quake recovery, saying he would visit the disaster zone. "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," he said.

The epicentre was in San Jose Del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Choco region, about 400 km west of Bogota, the US Geological Survey said. The quake was also felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama, though minimal damage was reported there.

The quake ravaged cities across the west of the country, including Pereira, Quibdo, Cali and Manizales. Residents and search teams picked through the rubble of collapsed buildings amid concerns of aftershocks. Colombia's interior minister said more than 20 municipalities across the country had been hit.

Colombia's Pacific region, around the quake's epicentre, lies along the "Ring of Fire", the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur. The Pacific, particularly the Choco region, is one of the poorest parts of the country. Nestled in dense jungle, much of Choco is highly rural and reachable only by boat or plane, which may complicate authorities' assessment of the wider toll.

Most powerful quake in a decade, authorities say

Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver in Cali, said he saw plumes of dust shoot up across the city as buildings collapsed. "My entire house shook. I've never lived through such a powerful earthquake. We're thanking God we're alive," he said.

Before the president gave the latest death toll of at least 111, local officials had confirmed at least 40 killed in the Risaralda region, home to the hard-hit city of Pereira, and 27 in the Valle del Cauca region, where Cali, Colombia's third-biggest city, is located. At least three of those killed in Valle del Cauca were children, the governor said. Authorities also confirmed nine deaths in Choco, two more in Caldas and a 73-year-old in Antioquia.

Colombia's Geological Service said Monday it was the highest-magnitude earthquake registered in the country in the last decade, followed by two aftershocks of magnitude 2.8 and 4.8. Flights were suspended at airports in Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago, Buenaventura and Pereira.

The quake left many in the Andean nation unnerved after two back-to-back earthquakes devastated neighbouring Venezuela in late June, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing more than 5,000 people, with families there still searching the ruins for loved ones.

In Pereira, photos and videos published by local media showed pieces of the airport ceiling falling on travelers taking shelter and screaming, and people running through rubble in panic. Mayor Mauricio Salazar told a local radio station that at least 18 people had died and many more were trapped under "a massive quantity of collapsed buildings."

In nearby Manizales, a city in Colombia's coffee-producing mountains, one tower of the neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed onto the nave. Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas asked residents to stay outdoors in case of aftershocks.

Authorities in the rural state of Choco, the epicentre of the quake, reported injuries and damaged buildings in the capital but provided few details. In Cali, a city of 2 million people, Mayor Alejandro Eder said residents were trapped in at least 19 collapsed buildings.

Powerful quakes rare in Colombia, where smaller ones are common

Small earthquakes, known as "temblores", are common in central and western Colombia, but those above magnitude 6.0 are rare. In 1999, a 6.2-magnitude quake near the city of Armenia killed more than 1,100 people.

De la Espriella said Monday he had personally taken charge of the government's response to the emergency in San Jose del Palmar. "You are not alone. The state is present and taking action," he said.

The response presents the first major challenge to de la Espriella, a Trump ally sworn in as president over the weekend.

Messages of support rolled in from leaders across the Americas, including Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador and the United States. "The Trump administration is closely monitoring the large earthquake that struck Colombia and stands ready to support the people of Colombia," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X. A number of countries offered aid, and UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said, "We stand ready to help as needed."