Revealed On 10 Aug 2026
Not less than 47 folks have been killed and dozens of buildings have collapsed in cities throughout western Colombia after a robust magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the South American nation.
The quake on Monday trapped residents below particles, injured many extra and compelled folks to flee their properties as distant because the capital, Bogota.
The epicentre was close to San Jose del Palmar, a neighborhood of about 4,800 folks within the Choco area, roughly 250 miles (400km) west of Bogota, in response to the USA Geological Survey (USGS) and Colombia’s geological service. The USGS stated the earthquake struck at a depth of 66 miles (107km). Tremors had 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 by means of the rubble of collapsed buildings amid official warnings of potential aftershocks.
The Colombian Geological Service stated 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, identified 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 town of Armenia killed greater than 1,100 folks.
Colombia’s newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella stated 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.
