At least 20 people have died following a powerful earthquake that struck western Colombia, triggering building collapses and trapping residents under rubble, according to reports from international and local authorities. The seismic event, which registered a magnitude of 7.4 according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), struck during morning hours and sent strong tremors through multiple regions, including neighboring Ecuador.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 107 kilometers, with its epicenter located roughly 400 kilometers west of the capital city of Bogotá in San José del Palmar within the Chocó region, as reported by tagesschau.de. While the capital largely escaped structural devastation, residents in Bogotá heard alarms sound and rushed into the streets as the ground shook.
Casualties and Structural Damage Across Affected Regions
The city of Pereira, situated west of Bogotá, bore the brunt of the disaster. According to tagesschau.de, municipal authorities confirmed at least 18 fatalities in Pereira alongside dozens of injuries. Mauricio Salazar, the mayor of Pereira, described the local situation as critical during an interview with the radio station Caracol, noting that infrastructure had sustained severe impacts, including damage to the Matecaña international airport, as detailed by web.de.
Additional fatalities were reported outside Pereira. Two people died in Manizales, located approximately 50 kilometers away, where a tower of the neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed onto the main nave. Jorge Eduardo Rojas, the mayor of Manizales, issued public warnings to residents regarding the ongoing threat of aftershocks. Meanwhile, in the province of Valle del Cauca, at least four individuals lost their lives, including three children killed when a wall collapsed in the municipality of Calima El Darién, and another person who died in Zarzal, according to reports compiled by web.de.
Emergency Response and Conflicting Seismological Data
Rescue operations intensified in major urban centers such as Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city with roughly two million residents. Hospital patients in Cali were temporarily evacuated outdoors as a safety precaution following the initial tremors.
Scientific institutions recorded varying initial data regarding the earthquake’s physical parameters. While the USGS measured the magnitude at 7.4 at a depth of 107 kilometers, the Colombian disaster relief agency UNGRD initially registered the magnitude at 6.6 with a depth of 79 kilometers, according to web.de. The Colombian Geological Service (SGC) subsequently revised its preliminary assessment upward to 7.4, aligning with international measurements.