7.4 Earthquake Kills at Least 169 in Colombia, Curfews Hit Cali and Pereira

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday morning, forcing curfews in Cali and Pereira and leaving families guarding ruins as rescue teams searched through collapsed buildings.

“At 7:34 on Monday morning, the ground shifted beneath western Colombia”

LatinAmerican Post

The quake’s epicenter was near San José del Palmar in Chocó, at a depth of 103 kilometers, and by Tuesday morning the reported toll had risen to at least 169 deaths, including 85 in Cali, while Pereira counted roughly 60.

Al Jazeera

Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder imposed a curfew from 8 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday and ordered a military deployment after warnings of looting, while Pereira Mayor Mauricio Salazar declared a separate curfew beginning at 6 p.m. in the city center, Comuna Universidad and the Cuba subcenter.

In Cali, the earthquake left dozens of buildings leaning precariously or destroyed outright, and a hospital director Irne Torres Castro told Caracol television that several of the top floors of a hospital—some dedicated to paediatric care—collapsed upon themselves, leaving some patients trapped and forcing about 600 others to be tended to on a street strewn with rubble.

In Pereira, the disaster unfolded alongside infrastructure failures, with large parts of the city losing electricity and gas and with mobile and internet service returning unevenly as damaged bridges and debris worsened the ordeal.

As search-and-rescue operations continued into Tuesday, President Abelardo de la Espriella—who assumed power on Friday—declared a state of emergeny and said rescuing people trapped under rubble was the government’s first priority.

De la Espriella told journalists, “Our intention is to cooperate in any way necessary. Here, there are no distinctions or ideological divisions when it comes to defending our people or showing solidarity,” while authorities warned the death toll could rise as teams reached more affected areas.

Atalayar

In Cali, volunteers formed human chains to remove concrete and bricks by hand, and firefighters said two women and two children were rescued from a collapsed building while other teams continued searching for survivors.

In Pereira, rescue workers said they were in contact with a boy trapped beneath a bakery while cranes were being used to remove dangerous sections of damaged buildings, and the same report said more than 2,700 people were reported missing on citizen-run websites by Monday night.

The Al Jazeera account also described the scale of damage, saying “About 1,600 buildings have been damaged or destroyed,” including the towers of a historic cathedral in Manizales.

Cali’s curfew and militarization were tied directly to fears of looting and the need to keep roads clear for ambulances and rescue units, with Mayor Alejandro Eder decreeing a curfew from 8:00 p.m. Monday until 6:00 a.m. Tuesday.

““We have warnings and threats of looting in various parts of the city.”

L'Unione Sarda.it

Eder said, “We have warnings and threats of looting in various parts of the city. Right now, our priority is to protect citizens and ensure that rescuers can continue their post-earthquake rescue operations,” while the same account said police and army would patrol the most damaged areas and hospitals were placed on red alert.

The stakes of the response extended beyond Cali and Pereira, with the state announced order from above and rescue spreading through the streets as authorities also reported damage in Dagua, including four deaths, 300 affected homes, 80 collapses and 28 landslides.

International and national support was framed as part of the next phase, with the U.S. announcing $15.5 million in emergency aid and the European Commission activating its Copernicus satellite service to supply rescue services with imagery of the scale of the damage.

In the immediate aftermath, the sources also tied consequences to access and infrastructure, noting that much of Chocó is only reachable by boat or plane and that the extent of destruction remained unclear because the region was remote and difficult to access.