Powerful Quake Hits Western Colombia
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia early on Monday, killing at least 20 people, trapping others beneath rubble and causing widespread structural damage in cities including Pereira, Manizales, Cali and Quibdó as rescue operations continued through the day.
The tremor occurred at 7:34 a.m. local time with its epicenter near the municipality of San José del Palmar in the Chocó department, roughly 280 kilometres west of Bogotá. The United States Geological Survey recorded a depth of about 107 kilometres, while Colombia’s Servicio Geológico Colombiano reported a magnitude of 7.4 and a depth of approximately 96 to 103 kilometres.
The intermediate-depth event involved a strike-slip rupture within the subducting Nazca plate beneath the South American plate. Colombia’s geological service described it as the highest-magnitude earthquake registered in the country in the past decade. Aftershocks followed, including events of magnitude 4.8 and 2.8.
Local officials reported at least 18 deaths in Pereira, among them three at the Matecaña International Airport terminal where the roof partially collapsed, and two further fatalities in Manizales. Additional casualties and injuries were confirmed in the Valle del Cauca department that includes Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, with the overall toll expected to rise as search efforts proceed.
In Cali, Mayor Alejandro Eder stated that at least 20 buildings had collapsed with residents trapped inside and requested specialised rescue teams from Bogotá and Medellín. Patients were evacuated from hospitals amid the disruption. Pereira Mayor Mauricio Salazar described a critical situation with numerous buildings affected and people still under debris.
In Manizales, part of a tower at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary collapsed into the nave, while more than a dozen buildings and over 20 homes were damaged or destroyed. Quibdó, the capital of Chocó, reported injuries and severe building damage according to Governor Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Curi.
The shaking was felt strongly across much of Colombia, including Bogotá, Medellín and Armenia, prompting mass evacuations into the streets. It was also reported in neighbouring Ecuador, Panama and parts of Venezuela. No tsunami threat was issued because of the quake’s depth. Videos and photographs from the affected areas showed crushed vehicles under piles of brick, damaged commercial facades, cracked multi-storey buildings and people gathering outdoors. Airports in the region, including those in Pereira, Manizales and others, reported operational disruptions.
Newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office only days earlier, convened an emergency committee and assumed personal leadership of the response. He announced plans to travel to Pereira and ordered the establishment of a unified command post to coordinate assistance. Bogotá offered rescue personnel and resources while reporting no major structural damage of its own. Authorities in multiple departments activated emergency protocols, with engineers inspecting buildings for further risk and warnings issued about potential aftershocks.
