7.4 Earthquake Kills At Least 47 in Western Colombia, Collapses Buildings in Pereira, Quibdo

Quake hits western Colombia

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 47 people and collapsing dozens of buildings across cities including Pereira, Quibdo, Cali and Manizales, according to ABC News and emergency reporting.

The quake’s epicenter was in San Jose Del Palmar in Colombia’s Choco region, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) west of Bogota, and the U.S. Geological Survey said it struck at a depth of 66 miles (107 kilometers).

ABC News reported that residents were trapped under debris and that search teams picked through rubble amid concerns by authorities of aftershocks, while Al Jazeera said the tremor occurred near San Jose del Palmar in Choco and that there was no tsunami warning.

Colombia’s newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella said Monday, “You are not alone. The state is present and taking action,” as he personally took charge of the government’s response in San José del Palmar, ABC News reported.

In Cali, Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver, told ABC News, “My entire house shook,” describing a shaking he said he had “never lived through such a powerful earthquake.”

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Toll disputes and evacuations

Death tolls varied across outlets as the response unfolded, with Al Jazeera reporting at least 69 killed and ABC News saying at least 47 were killed and dozens of buildings collapsed. In Choco, Governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba-Curi said on X, “We are concerned about aftershocks,” and Al Jazeera reported that authorities in Colombia and Ecuador urged residents to remain alert as emergency teams assessed the impact. In Bogota, Al Jazeera reported that Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galan wrote on social media that “No serious structural damage has been reported in Bogota, so our resources are at the service of the country,” while ABC News said people were forced to evacuate their homes as far as the capital of Bogotá.

CNN said its count based on local officials put the death toll at least 80, and CNN Chile reported that at least 18 people died in Pereira, with two deaths in Manizales, bringing confirmed fatalities to 20. CNN also described President Abelardo de la Espriella, who “just took office on Friday,” convening an emergency committee as the Colombian government declared a state of national disaster and rescue soldiers were deployed.

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Aftershocks, missing, and aid

As rescue operations continued, Al Jazeera said authorities reported at least 265 people killed and more than 3,500 injured, while close to 500 remained unaccounted for in the strongest quake to hit Colombia this century. Al Jazeera reported that President Abelardo de la Espriella declared an “economic emergency” and three days of national mourning, with thousands sleeping outdoors in makeshift shelters and volunteers organizing food, water and blood donations. In Pereira, rescuers and volunteers shifted from searching for survivors to removing rubble, and Folha de S.Paulo reported that the goal was to locate bodies while sniffer dogs continued to be used in buildings where operations were underway.

Folha de S.Paulo also described temporary shelters set up by the City Hall, including one at Olaya Herrera Park, where it said about 152 people were living and that the shelter provided “three meals a day provided by the City Hall.” The longer-term stakes included displacement and reconstruction costs, and El Economista reported that the UN refugee agency warned the earthquake could trigger new displacements, with Eujin Byun saying, “this earthquake risks becoming another displacement, on top of the previous one,” while the UNGRD reported by Friday 288 people had died, 4,018 were injured, and 202 remained missing.

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