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7.4 Earthquake Kills At Least 47 in Western Colombia, Collapsing Buildings in Pereira and Cali

10 August, 2026.Other.40 sources

Developing · updated 55m ago · 40 outlets

Magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia, epicenter near San José del Palmar, Chocó. Buildings collapsed across cities including Cali and Pereira, with many residents trapped.

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Quake Strikes Colombia

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 47 people and causing dozens of buildings to collapse across cities including Pereira, Quibdo, Cali and Manizales.

“At least 47 people have been killed and dozens of buildings have collapsed”

ABC News

The epicenter was in San Jose Del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Choco region about 250 miles (400 kilometers) west of Bogota, and the USGS said it struck at a depth of 66 miles (107 kilometers).

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Colombia’s interior minister said more than 20 municipalities across the country had been hit, and the quake prompted evacuations as far away as Bogotá.

In Cali, Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver, said, “My entire house shook,” and added, “I've never lived through such a powerful earthquake.”

Colombia’s Geological Service said Monday that it had been “the highest magnitude earthquake registered in Colombia in the last decade” and that it had been followed by two 2.8 and 4.8 magnitude aftershocks.

Sources

ABC News

Deaths and Damage Diverge

CBS News said the earthquake killed at least 51 people, while ABC News put the toll at least 47, and the different counts reflected ongoing search and damage assessment across the region.

In Chocó province, Gov. Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Curi said on social media there were at least four deaths and 69 injuries, and local officials also confirmed deaths including at least 27 people in the Valle del Cauca department where Cali is located.

ABC News

In Cali, Mayor Alejandro Eder said residents were trapped in at least 19 buildings that had collapsed, and Jorge Moncayo told NBC News, “My entire house shook,” and “I've never lived through such a powerful earthquake.”

In Bogotá, Mayor Carlos F. Galán said there were no structural damage reports, while witnesses reported feeling the shaking across the capital and all the way to the coast in Barranquilla.

The quake also triggered flight suspensions, with ABC News reporting flights were suspended in airports of Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago y Buenaventura and Pereira, and CBS News citing that about 10.5 million people experienced strong to very strong shaking.

Sources

CBS News

NBC News

Emergency Response and Stakes

Colombia’s newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella said Monday that he had personally taken charge of the government’s response to the emergency in San José del Palmar, and he told residents, “You are not alone. The state is present and taking action.”

““You are not alone. The state is present and taking action,””

ABC News

Reuters reported the quake struck just days after De La Espriella was sworn in as president, thrusting the new administration into its first major crisis, with memories still fresh of twin earthquakes in neighboring Venezuela in June.

In Pereira, Mayor Mauricio Salazar said at least 18 people had died and that many more were trapped under “a massive quantity of collapsed buildings,” while in Manizales Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said two people had died in the city “because of the quake.”

Authorities warned of aftershocks, and Colombia’s Geological Service said the earthquake had been followed by two 2.8 and 4.8 magnitude aftershocks, while local officials continued picking through rubble for survivors.

The stakes extended to infrastructure and mobility, as airports in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura were among those where flights were suspended pending structural damage assessments.

Sources

ABC News

Reuters