A magnitude 7.4 earthquake tore through western Colombia early Monday, killing at least 132 people and injuring hundreds more in what officials and NBC News described as the country's most powerful earthquake in decades. The quake struck at 07:34 local time at a depth of 103km (64 miles) near the village of San Jose del Palmar in Chocó province, according to Colombia's national geological service, and was felt as far away as Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama.
The BBC reported that Colombia's Association of Capital Cities put the injury toll at more than 570 as of Monday evening, while NBC News, citing local officials, said the number had climbed closer to 700, with roughly 5,000 homes damaged and 188 people still unaccounted for. Three hospitals collapsed outright and 18 more sustained damage, complicating an already stretched emergency response, and 39 schools and seven regional airports also reported damage. According to the US Geological Survey, an estimated 1.5 million people felt shaking close to magnitude seven, and a magnitude-5.0 aftershock struck less than an hour later roughly 10 miles west of the epicenter.
Buildings Down, Search Underway
The worst damage was concentrated in Pereira, in Colombia's coffee-growing region and about 55km from the epicenter, where local authorities reported at least 67 dead and 65 collapsed buildings, with people believed trapped inside 15 of them. A curfew was imposed in parts of the city. In Cali, roughly 200km from the epicenter, 32 buildings collapsed, and further deaths were reported in Manizales, Quibdó and Medellín. Both cities, along with Armenia, were placed under Colombia's highest "red alert" disaster status alongside Pereira and Cali.
Witnesses described chaotic, terrifying scenes as buildings shook and cracked around them. Angélica Ávila, who was staying in a hotel in Manizales, told the BBC World Service that the earthquake sent people fleeing into the streets:
Everyone was screaming... I saw dust coming out of the neighbouring buildings, and bricks were falling off the walls.
Angélica Ávila, Manizales resident, to BBC World Service
Dan Cutler, a Londoner travelling in Cali, said he and his partner "sprinted outside in our pyjamas" as the ground shook. "There's no major structural damage to the hotel, but there are surface cracks in the walls, and paint and plaster have peeled off," he told the BBC, adding that he had "never experienced anything like it."
A New President's First Crisis
The disaster lands on the desk of President Abelardo de la Espriella just days into his term — he took office only last Friday. He has declared a national disaster, unlocking emergency powers to reallocate government budgets toward search-and-rescue and reconstruction, and confirmed that more than 1,500 homes had been damaged. It is an immediate, legacy-defining test for a leader barely a week into the job.
The quake also lands on a region still reeling from a separate catastrophe: twin earthquakes that devastated northern Venezuela in June killed more than 6,300 people, making this one of the deadliest stretches for seismic activity in the Andes in years.
International offers of help arrived quickly. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was "closely monitoring" the situation and stood "ready to support," and NBC News reported the Trump administration had pledged $15.5 million in emergency shelter, food and protection assistance. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU's Copernicus satellite system had been activated to aid rescue operations, and El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele offered personnel and equipment.
Colombian officials have warned the death toll is likely to rise further as crews continue combing through rubble in the hardest-hit neighborhoods, where the fate of scores of missing residents remained unknown Tuesday morning.
