A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck near the community of San Jose del Palmar in the western region of Choco, Colombia, on Monday, triggering widespread destruction in the cities of Cali, Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo and Buenaventura.
3,000 people
Reported missing after the earthquake, with many feared trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
The confirmed death toll stood at 169 as of Tuesday, with 668 people injured, according to Asocalpitales. Local authorities, however, reported a higher toll of 224 deaths on Tuesday, August 11. The figures remain incomplete because they largely cover major cities and do not yet include the full toll from rural communities.
In the affected cities, Cali accounted for 85 deaths and Pereira for 66, according to Asocalpitales. Around 1,600 buildings were damaged or destroyed, and at least 165 buildings completely collapsed in Pereira, Cali, Quibdo and Manizales alone. The cities of Pereira, Cali, Quibdo and Manizales remained on red alert because of the scale of the damage.
Hospitals, airports, public utilities and transport systems were damaged across several western departments of Colombia. The epicenter was near one of Colombia's poorest and most isolated regions; large parts are reachable only by boat, aircraft or jungle routes, and damaged roads are complicating access, so the full extent of casualties and destruction near the epicenter remains unclear.
Soldiers, emergency teams and relatives cleared debris in dozens of towns and cities, with volunteers forming lines to pass chunks of concrete by hand. The earthquake flattened dozens of buildings in western Colombia, according to a France 24 report.
International response
The United States offered $15.5 million (€13.42 million) in emergency assistance to Colombia. The European Union activated its Copernicus satellite service to support rescue operations and began providing emergency assistance, including €100,000 in initial aid through the German Red Cross. Israel, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and El Salvador also offered assistance to Colombia.
The earthquake was felt beyond Colombia, including in parts of Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama.
Updates
The death toll has been revised to 216, up from 169, following updated figures from Cali officials, while civilian databases estimate nearly 4,000 people remain unaccounted for; President Abelardo de la Espriella declared a state of emergency, mobilized 1,000 additional security forces—including 400 soldiers joining 600 already on site—and confirmed six airports are out of service, with 18 hospitals and 52 schools damaged; a 32-year-old woman was rescued alive on Tuesday, and emergency teams treated approximately 600 patients outdoors in Cali after hospital sections collapsed, while curfews were imposed in Cali and Pereira amid reports of looting.
The death toll was revised to 216, up from 169, after Cali officials corrected earlier figures, while civilian databases estimate nearly 4,000 remain unaccounted for; President Abelardo de la Espriella declared a state of emergency, mobilized 1,000 additional security forces—including 400 soldiers joining 600 already on site—and confirmed six airports are closed, with 18 hospitals and 52 schools damaged; a 32-year-old woman was rescued alive on Tuesday, and emergency aid is being offered by Ecuador, El Salvador, and Mexico, while curfews were imposed in Cali and Pereira amid looting reports.
The death toll has been revised to 216, up from 169, following updated figures from Cali officials; additionally, civilian databases now estimate nearly 4,000 people remain unaccounted for, while the government has deployed 1,000 security forces to Cali amid looting reports, imposed curfews in Cali and Pereira, and mobilized 400 more soldiers to join the 600 already on the ground, bringing total rescue personnel to 1,000.
The death toll was revised to 216, up from 169, after Cali officials corrected earlier figures, while civilian databases estimate nearly 4,000 remain unaccounted for; additionally, six airports are now confirmed out of service, 18 hospitals and 52 schools damaged, and 400 more soldiers have been deployed to join the 600 already on the ground, with rescue teams pulling two more survivors alive — a 32-year-old woman and a two-month-old baby — from collapsed buildings in Cali.
The death toll was revised to 216, up from the previously reported 169, following updated figures from Cali officials, while civilian databases estimate nearly 4,000 remain unaccounted for; additionally, 400 more soldiers have been deployed to join the 600 already on the ground, six airports are now fully suspended, and a baby and a 32-year-old woman were among those pulled alive from rubble in Cali, where three hospitals and 40 buildings collapsed, with 600 patients treated outdoors after one hospital's upper floors gave way.
The death toll has been revised to 216, up from the previously reported 169, following updated figures from Cali officials, while civilian databases now estimate nearly 4,000 people remain unaccounted for — an increase from the earlier figure of over 3,000 missing. Additionally, six airports have been confirmed out of service, 18 hospitals and 52 schools damaged, and 400 additional soldiers have been deployed to join the 600 already assisting in search efforts, with President Abelardo de la Espriella declaring a national state of emergency and three days of mourning.
The death toll was revised to 216, up from the earlier figure of 169, with new reports of fatalities in Cali, Manizales, and Buenaventura; additionally, civilian databases now estimate nearly 4,000 people remain unaccounted for, while the government confirmed 400 additional soldiers have been deployed to join the 600 already on the ground, and six airports—including Cali, Pereira, and Quibdó—are fully suspended, with the Hospital Universitario del Valle partially collapsed, forcing hundreds of patients to be treated outdoors.
The death toll was revised to 216, up from 169, following updated figures from Cali officials, while civilian databases estimate nearly 4,000 remain unaccounted for; additionally, 400 more soldiers have been deployed to join the 600 already on site, six airports are now fully out of service, and a baby and a 32-year-old woman were among those pulled alive from rubble in Cali, where three hospitals and 40 buildings collapsed, with 600 patients treated outdoors after one hospital's top floors gave way.
The death toll was revised to 216, up from the previously reported 169, following updated figures from Cali officials; additionally, civilian-run databases now estimate nearly 4,000 people remain unaccounted for, while the government confirmed 400 additional soldiers have been deployed to join the 600 already on the ground, bringing total security force involvement to 1,000 for search and rescue and looting prevention.
The death toll was revised to 216, up from 169, after Cali officials corrected earlier figures, while civilian databases estimate nearly 4,000 remain unaccounted for; additionally, 400 more soldiers have been deployed to join 600 already on site, six airports are now fully out of service, and a 32-year-old woman and a two-month-old baby were among those pulled alive from rubble in Cali, where three hospitals and 40 buildings collapsed.
The death toll has been revised to 216, up from the previously reported 169, with Cali officials correcting earlier figures; additionally, civilian-run databases now estimate nearly 4,000 people remain unaccounted for, compared to the initial figure of over 3,000 missing, while six airports—including those in Pereira, Manizales, and Buenaventura—are confirmed out of service, and 18 hospitals and 52 schools sustained damage, with Cali’s Hospital Universitario del Valle partially collapsing and hundreds of patients treated outdoors.
