A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 ripped through western Colombia on Monday, leaving more than 100 people dead, trapping others beneath collapsed structures, and causing widespread destruction, according to officials. The quake, the strongest ever recorded in the country, sent tremors as far as the capital, Bogotá, and even into neighboring Ecuador.
The epicenter was located near San José del Palmar, a rural community in the Chocó province, roughly 250 miles west of Bogotá, the U.S. Geological Survey and Colombia’s seismic agency reported. Less than an hour later, a 5.0-magnitude aftershock rattled the same area.
At least 111 people were confirmed dead and 87 others were injured, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announced. He declared a state of emergency to fast-track funding for recovery efforts.
Deaths spread across several regions
The hardest-hit areas were not at the epicenter but in neighboring provinces. In Risaralda, home to the city of Pereira, at least 40 people lost their lives. The Valle del Cauca region, which includes Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, reported 27 deaths. Chocó Gov. Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Curi said nine people died in her province, with 80 others injured. Two additional deaths were reported in Manizales, in the Caldas region.
The quake forced evacuations in Bogotá, where witnesses described buildings swaying and people rushing into the streets. The USGS estimated that about 10.5 million people experienced strong to very strong shaking, with effects felt as far away as Barranquilla on the Caribbean coast and in Ecuador to the south.
“The quake was very, very strong,” Valeria Polo, a 29-year-old content creator in Bogotá, told the Agence France-Presse news agency.
Rescue efforts amid the rubble
In Cali, a city of 2 million, Mayor Alejandro Eder said residents were trapped in at least 20 collapsed buildings. Rescue teams and volunteers worked through the debris, pulling survivors and recovering bodies. Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver, described the terror from his home.
“My entire house shook. I’ve never lived through such a powerful earthquake,” he said.
In Manizales, Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas reported that more than a dozen buildings and over 20 homes were partially or totally destroyed. Images from the city showed a tower of its neo-Gothic cathedral had collapsed onto the nave.
Pereira saw chaos at its airport, where ceiling panels fell onto travelers who screamed and ran for cover. Flights were suspended at several airports, including Pereira, Manizales, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura, according to Colombia’s aviation agency. In Armenia, residents were evacuated from homes over fears of structural damage.
Officials said more than 20 municipalities were affected, with hundreds of buildings damaged. In Bogotá, Mayor Carlos F. Galán reported no structural damage.
Historic quake in a seismic zone
Monday’s earthquake was the strongest to hit Colombia since record-keeping began in the 1920s. The country sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a zone of intense seismic activity. The affected area, known as Colombia’s coffee region, was devastated by a 1999 earthquake that killed more than 1,200 people.
The quake came just weeks after two powerful earthquakes struck neighboring Venezuela in late June, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, killing more than 5,000 people.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration was monitoring the situation and “stands ready to support the people of Colombia.”
