The race to find survivors continues in Colombia, where the death toll from Monday’s earthquake keeps climbing. From an initial count of 111 deaths announced just hours after the disaster, the number of victims has risen to 132 dead and more than 570 injured, a figure authorities themselves describe as still incomplete.
The earthquake, measured at magnitude 7.4 by both American and Colombian geological services, struck early Monday morning at a depth of roughly 100 kilometers, with its epicenter located near San José del Palmar in Chocó department, a poor region along the Pacific coast. Notably, the shaking lasted around four minutes, an exceptionally long duration that severely weakened buildings and raised the risk of further collapses in affected areas. By late Monday afternoon, Colombia’s geological service had already recorded 47 aftershocks.
The first official toll released by Colombian authorities reported 111 deaths, 87 injuries, roughly 1,500 damaged homes and 61 collapsed buildings nationwide. Six airports in the western part of the country had to suspend commercial flights after their infrastructure was damaged by the tremor.
That toll has since been revised upward to 132 dead and more than 570 injured in total. Pereira, in the country’s tourist friendly coffee growing region, has suffered the heaviest losses with 60 victims, while Cali, Colombia’s third largest city, has recorded 26 deaths and 456 injuries. Authorities note, however, that this updated toll remains incomplete, since it does not yet account for victims in more remote areas that rescue teams have struggled to reach.
Testimony from residents illustrates the scale of the panic triggered by the disaster. In Quibdo, capital of Chocó, a dentist described running out into the street, where hundreds of people had gathered, some of them praying. In Pereira, a law student who came to help dig people out from under the rubble described scenes of desperation, with residents jumping from the second floor of their homes, some without clothing, to escape collapsing buildings. The city’s mayor, Mauricio Salazar, called the situation critical.
This new disaster also revives a particularly painful memory in the coffee region, already struck by a deadly earthquake in 1999 that killed roughly 1,200 people.
Managing this catastrophe now falls to Abelardo de la Espriella, who had been Colombia’s president for just three days when the earthquake struck. He quickly declared a nationwide state of emergency, pledging to lead a coordinated rescue operation across all affected areas. The US administration, which backs the new right leaning president, announced Monday that it was releasing 15.5 million dollars in humanitarian aid. Switzerland has also said it stands ready to intervene should Colombian authorities request assistance.
Colombian rescue teams must operate with regional humanitarian resources already stretched thin, just weeks after a previous earthquake in neighboring Venezuela mobilized numerous international teams. As disaster response specialists point out, it is generally neighbors and local rescuers who respond first, well before international reinforcements arrive, a delay that directly affects the chances of finding survivors under the rubble.
With the toll still expected to rise as rescue teams reach the most remote areas of Chocó and neighboring departments, Colombia is facing what is shaping up to be one of the deadliest natural disasters to hit the country in the past decade.