Colombia is witnessing images of great destruction with collapsed buildings , 132 dead and an undetermined number of injured and missing people, after the terrible 7.4- magnitude earthquake in the early hours of Monday.
The tally by the Colombian Association of Capital Cities (Exoccipitals), with data up to 5:30 pm, puts the number of injured at over 570 , with 87 of the dead recorded in departmental capitals, while the government has already declared a state of national disaster .
The first official count counted 1,575 damaged homes and 37 completely destroyed , with the number of buildings that collapsed reaching 86 within a few hours.
The earthquake struck at 7:34 a.m. , just as the country was waking up. The Colombian Geological Survey (SGC) placed the epicenter near San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó , at a focal depth of 103 kilometers . Initial reports had measured 6.6 and 6.7, but the revision gave a magnitude of 7.4 , the strongest seismic event to hit Colombia in the 21st century .
The director of the agency, Julio Fierro Morales, recalled that the same zone had produced a 7.2 Richter earthquake in November 1979. The energy released was 25 times greater than that of the Chocó earthquake in 1995 and 150 times greater than the devastating Coffee Axis earthquake in 1999.
The depth of the epicenter explains why the tremor spread over a huge area. The waves traveled hundreds of kilometers, shaking Bogota and were felt as far away as Ecuador and Panama . People fled apartment buildings and offices, while in many cities facades collapsed onto parked cars.
The affected areas are concentrated in the west and center of the country, with damage reported in nine departments.
Five capitals are on red alert : Pereira, Cali, Quibdó, Manizales and Armenia , while Popayán remains on medium alert. The departments of Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, Caldas and Quindío appear to be the hardest hit.
Pereira is paying the heaviest price, with 60 dead , while dozens of people are still being searched for in the rubble and the city’s communications are operating with serious problems. Cali follows with 15 dead , Quibdó with eight and Manizales with four . In Chocó, Nubia Governor Carolina Córdoba spoke of serious damage to buildings and dozens of injured, with the numbers constantly increasing.
In Manizales, the dome of the cathedral , the city’s most recognizable building, partially collapsed, and the historic center was filled with rubble. In Cali , Mayor Alejandro Eder announced that 26 buildings had collapsed . The damage to infrastructure is multifaceted: seven airports — Pereira, Manizales, Cali, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura — have suspended operations , while damage has been recorded in hospitals, roads, transportation, water, energy and telecommunications networks , as well as schools and cultural heritage monuments. Bogotá was spared the worst: Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán reported that no serious structural damage had been found, only cracks in some buildings, with crews continuing to inspect all neighborhoods.
The authorities began to provide information within the first hour. Interior Minister Rodrigo Lara activated the Unified Operations Center (PMU) at the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD) , where President Abelardo de la Espriella arrived shortly afterwards to personally coordinate, telling residents of the affected areas that they were not alone. Minister José Manuel Restrepo headed to the department of Caldas to chair the local operations center in Manizales. After the crisis meeting, the government declared a national state of disaster , a measure that allows for the extraordinary mobilization of resources. Immediate priorities, as announced: search and rescue of trapped people , care for the injured, checking the stability of buildings and restoring essential services. The maritime authority Dimar and UNGRD ruled out the risk of a tsunami on the Pacific coast.
At the same time, a large aid mechanism was mobilized. The Armed Forces set up an airlift from the CATAM base. Bogotá sent 100 rescuers and structural engineers from IDIGER to Pereira, Cali and Quibdó, while Medellín was preparing its own teams. Six humanitarian aid collection points were opened in the capital, with requests for drinking water, blankets, mattresses, non-perishable food, personal hygiene items and first aid materials. The United States announced $15.5 million for emergency shelter, food, protection measures and damage assessment.
The evening brought a second front. The mayor of Cali imposed a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and ordered the militarization of the city , with joint police and army patrols, citing threats of looting in affected neighborhoods.
The ground, however, did not calm down. The SGC recorded dozens of aftershocks on the same day, with the measurements reaching 47, and warned that the sequence will continue. Experts estimate that it could last for months and include tremors close to 6 on the Richter scale, a scenario particularly dangerous for buildings that have already suffered damage without being checked.
The numbers remain preliminary , and all authorities emphasize this. Rescue teams have not yet reached the mountainous settlements of Chocó, where access is difficult and communications are cut off. The true toll of the tragedy will become clear in the coming days.
