At least 111 people are dead and a state of national disaster declared after a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia, trapping residents under debris of collapsed buildings and forcing people to evacuate their homes as far away as the capital of Bogota.
The epicentre was in San Jose Del Palmar, a community of about 4800 people in the Choco region about 402 kilometres west of Bogota, the US Geological Survey and Colombia’s counterpart reported. The USGS said it struck at a depth of 106 kilometres just after 7.30am (10.30pm AEST).
The quake also was felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama, though minimal damage was reported there.
Local officials confirmed that at least 18 people had been killed in the city of Pereira, two in the city of Manizales, and 27 people in the Valle del Cauca department, where Colombia’s third-biggest city, Cali, is located. At least three killed in Valle del Cauca were children, the governor reported.
Dozens of people are trapped beneath the rubble, with major rescue efforts underway.
Newly sworn-in President Abelardo De La Espriella said he had assumed leadership of the rescue and recovery efforts.
“I am at the forefront of the situation. It pains me deeply what the families and affected regions are going through,” he said on X.
The government has declared a state of national disaster.
The quake left cities across the west of the country — Pereira, Quibdo, Cali and Manizales — ravaged. A mix of residents and search teams picked through the rubble of collapsed buildings amid concerns by authorities of aftershocks. Colombia’s interior minister said more than 20 municipalities across the country had been hit.
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