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Venezuela survivors, again
Winder and Deivi Delfín, two Venezuelan brothers aged 15 and 17, survived earthquakes in Venezuela in June and then faced another quake in Colombia, where they were living with their father, Deivid Delfín, 44, in Cali.
“El lunes, a las 7:34 de la mañana, unterremoto de magnitud 7,4 con epicentro cercano a Cali”
The new earthquake struck at 7:34 a.m. on Monday, with a magnitude of 7,4 and an epicenter near Cali, and the brothers ran outside as their father was away from the home.
After the shaking began, Deivid Delfín returned quickly but initially could not find his children, until he reunited with them minutes later, “sanos y salvos.”
Recalling the fear, Delfín told The New York Times, “Se me salieron las lágrimas y todo, porque me daba miedo lo que viví ya, lo que vivieron mis hijos. No quiero que les pase nada a mis hijos.”
Staying outside in fear
After the quake, the family stayed outside the house for much of Monday because fear prevented them from entering again.
The father said, “En este momento estamos aquí afuera, en la casa,” and admitted that the fear still kept him from letting them go back inside.
He also framed the moment as survival rather than recovery, saying, “Nosotros estamos aquí, con vida.”
The story was linked to the earlier disaster in Venezuela, where the brothers had lost their mother, their younger brother, and their grandmother in the earthquakes that struck Venezuela on 24 de junio.
Colombia quake toll and response
In Colombia, the 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit western areas on Monday, killing at least 111 people, damaging hundreds of buildings, and leaving many trapped under debris as search teams and civilians searched through rubble in Cali.
“killing at least 111 people, damaging hundreds of buildings”
AP reported that Colombia’s President Abelardo de la Espriella said at least 87 people were injured and around 1,600 buildings were damaged, including at least 61 that completely collapsed, and he declared an emergency to expedite funding for recovery.
In the Chocó region, the epicenter was in San Jose del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people, and AP said the town has no airport and is located on top of a mountain ridge along a highway linking Cali and Pereira.
The New York Times described the quake as the strongest recorded in Colombia in a decade, saying the Colombian Geological Survey reported it was the most powerful recorded in the South American nation in the past decade and that President Abelardo De La Espriella declared a state of emergency.