7.4 Earthquake Kills At Least 132 in Colombia, President Abelardo de la Espriella Declares Disaster

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia at 07:34 (12:34 GMT) and killed at least 132 people, with the BBC reporting the quake hit at a depth of 103km (64 miles) in Chocó province.

“The magnitude 7.4 quake struck at 07:34 (12:34 GMT) at a depth of 103km (64 miles) in Chocó province”

BBC

The epicentre was near the village of San José del Palmar in Chocó, and BBC cited local mayor León Fabio Marín Moncada saying there had miraculously been no deaths or injuries there despite damaged roads in and out.

ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Colombia’s President Abelardo de la Espriella declared a national disaster situation and created special powers to react to the emergency, while the ABC reported the death toll had risen to 132 and 570 people were injured according to the latest update from the Colombian Association of Capital Cities.

The quake was felt across an enormous area stretching for hundreds of miles across western Colombia, and the BBC said many deaths were concentrated in Pereira, where videos verified by the BBC showed at least one building collapsing in Plaza Bolívar.

In Pereira, the BBC reported 65 collapsed buildings and people believed to be trapped in 15 of them, while the ABC said tremors were also felt in Panama, Ecuador and Venezuela.

In a national address, President Abelardo de la Espriella said the national government had all of its capabilities deployed to protect lives, assist affected communities and deliver aid wherever it was needed, and the ABC quoted him saying, "The first priority is rescuing the people trapped under the rubble."

The BBC described how the quake was felt across major cities, and it included Dan Cutler’s account from Cali: "I've never experienced anything like it."

Al Jazeera

In Cali, the ABC reported authorities announced curfews and that Cali’s mayor said threats of looting had forced him to deploy police and military personnel to the streets, while the BBC said a curfew was in place in some parts of Pereira until 05:00 local time on Tuesday.

The ABC also reported that at least six Colombian airports suspended operations, and it said residents in San Jose del Palmar were being warned to be on alert for aftershocks.

In Manizales, the BBC quoted Angélica Ávila saying, "Everyone was screaming... I saw dust coming out of the neighbouring buildings, and bricks were falling off the walls," as the quake damaged buildings across the Chocó and Valle del Cauca regions.

The CNN live updates described how the earthquake hit Colombia’s coffee axis, noting that the area helps to power Colombia’s economy and draws hundreds of thousands of tourists annually, with Pereira and Manizales among the places where damage was concentrated.

“draws hundreds of thousands of tourists annually”

CNN

CNN reported that the US committed $15.5 million to Colombia for shelter, food, protection and earthquake assessments, and it said the US embassy in Bogota was "actively assisting" American tourists.

The BBC said the aviation authority reported damage at several regional airports, including those in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura, while the ABC reported that at least six Colombian airports suspended operations.

In the days after the quake, CNN said the government declared a national disaster and deployed soldiers, and it described rescue efforts including collapsed structures in Cali’s pediatric and neonatal sections of a hospital.

CNN also connected the current crisis to the region’s prior earthquake history by noting that on January 25, 1999, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in Colombia’s coffee-growing region left 1,185 people dead and destroyed 35,972 homes, underscoring what is at risk in the same tourism-linked areas.