A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on August 10, 2026, killing at least 254 people and injuring more than 570. The disaster flattened apartment blocks and health centers across the coffee-growing heartland, leaving thousands homeless as rescue crews search for survivors under heavy rubble.
Rescue workers and civilian volunteers continued digging through collapsed buildings on Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Rescue workers and civilian volunteers continued digging through collapsed buildings on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, relying on excavators, cranes, and bare hands to clear debris in the worst-hit cities of Pereira and Cali. The tremor struck at 7:34 a.m. on Monday with an epicentral depth of approximately 107 kilometers near San José del Palmar in the Chocó region, according to updated reports. The violent shaking was felt widely across central and western Colombia, including Quibdó, Manizales, Armenia, Medellín, and Bogotá, with some reports noting the movement was perceived in zones of neighboring countries.
Government figures place the nationwide death toll at 254
Government figures place the nationwide death toll at 254, with 101 people killed in Pereira, deep in coffee country, and 95 in Cali, the country’s third-biggest city. Nearly 100 aftershocks were registered as of Tuesday morning, according to Reuters, compounding the destruction of apartment blocks, homes, schools, and health centers. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that some 5,000 homes suffered damage, while dozens of buildings collapsed entirely.
Newly inaugurated President Abelardo De La Espriella traveled to the affected regions and promised economic support to people who lost their homes, while decreeing a three-month economic relief measure for people in the coffee-growing region of Risaralda. The government is currently preparing to revise a more than $180 billion budget prepared by their leftist predecessors, having announced immediate austerity measures as it came into power. Meanwhile, National Coffee Federation chief German Bahamon stated on social media that the organization was working on the ground with families to assess damage to farms and rural infrastructure.
Luis Saenz, a 22-year-old journalism student from Cali
In Cali, at least 45 structures have fully or partially collapsed. Luis Saenz, a 22-year-old journalism student from Cali, recalled the terrifying initial moments, stating, For me, the earthquake felt eternal.
Saenz was at home enjoying his morning coffee when the quake struck, remembering his cat darting under the bed and subsequent chaos as his family fled into the street. Resident Maria Isabel Cumbal said between sobs, I never thought I would see my city like this,
as she watched rescue efforts unfold at the seven-storey residential Vanessa Building in the south of the city, which was reduced to wreckage.
Rescuers used hammers, shovels, and heavy machinery alongside hundreds of volunteers who formed a human chain to pass buckets filled with debris from atop the mound of wreckage down to dump trucks. Periodically, rescuers held up a fist to call for silence so emergency responders could listen for signs of life. Firefighters also pulled a 35-year-old man from the wreckage shortly before 4 a.m. on Tuesday, nearly 24 hours after the quake rattled western Colombia.
The earthquake also struck the forested Pacific-facing region of Chocó close to the epicenter
The earthquake also struck the forested Pacific-facing region of Chocó close to the epicenter, where many Indigenous communities remain without power or basic services, complicating rescue efforts. Chocó Governor Nubia Carolina Córdoba Curi stated, What we don’t have is a complete tally of the physical damage,
as communications were still down in eight municipalities. The tragedy also deeply touched the region with the confirmed death of Mateo Valencia Valencia, a six-year-old boy and son of Bahía Solano Mayor Jairson Leonel Valencia Pinilla and Yirley Valencia, after the structure where he was located collapsed.
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