Colombia Earthquake: Death Toll Crosses 100 After Strongest Tremor in a Century
A 7.4 magnitude earthquake, the strongest in Colombia this century, has killed at least 111 people and injured 87 others.
A powerful earthquake has struck western Colombia, killing at least 111 people and injuring 87 others, according to preliminary government reports. The 7.4 magnitude tremor, which hit on Monday, has been described by the country's geological service as the strongest recorded in Colombia in the 21st century.
The quake struck just days after President Abelardo De La Espriella was sworn into office, presenting his new administration with an immediate crisis. In a national address, the president declared a state of emergency and pledged to deploy all national resources to assist affected communities.
"The first priority is rescuing the people trapped under the rubble," De La Espriella said, emphasizing the government's focus on saving lives.
Widespread Damage and Rescue Efforts
The earthquake caused significant destruction across several cities, toppling buildings, damaging hospitals, and forcing the closure of airports in the west, including Pereira, Manizales, and Quibdo, for structural inspections.
In Pereira, the capital of the coffee-growing region of Risaralda, a four-story building collapsed. Video footage from Manizales showed a tower of the city's landmark neo-Gothic cathedral crumbling onto the streets below. Rescue workers, police, and volunteers have been working tirelessly, shoveling debris by hand and forming human chains to search for survivors.
Mauricio Andrade, a firefighter in Cali, reported that his team had rescued two women and two children from a collapsed building and was preparing to free more people. "They are alive," he said. "We are making space so we can free them and get them out."
Aftershocks and Regional Impact
Communications outages have slowed reports from Choco, the region near the epicenter. Governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba reported 12 deaths and 84 injuries in that largely rural area. The Colombian Geological Service has recorded 21 aftershocks and warned that additional tremors are likely.
Colombia sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire. Seismologists note that the quake's powerful magnitude and inland location may have amplified the shaking in populated valleys, despite its considerable depth of 107 kilometers. The event brings back memories of the 1999 earthquake in the coffee region, which killed more than 1,000 people.