A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 111 people and damaging hundreds of buildings and leaving many trapped under debris while their loved ones and rescue workers searched through rubble.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said at least 87 people were injured and around 1,600 buildings were damaged, including at least 61 that completely collapsed. He declared an emergency to expedite funding for the quake recovery while saying he would visit the disaster zone.
"We aren't going to leave people alone. They are in our hearts and we are going to tend to people with our full determination," he said.The epicentre was in San José del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Choco region about 400 kilometres west of Bogota, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake also was felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama, though minimal damage was reported there.
The quake ravaged cities across the west of the country, including Pereira, Quibdo, Cali and Manizales.
In the country's third-largest city, Cali, search teams and civilians picked through the remains of destroyed buildings, passing large pieces of concrete and other rubble down a long line of volunteers. The desperate scene brought memories of the searches still ongoing in neighbouring Venezuela weeks after that country was devastated by two powerful earthquakes.
Colombia's Geological Service said Monday's quake was the strongest recorded in Colombia "in the 21st century," and that it was followed by 21 less powerful aftershocks.
Colombia's Pacific region around the quake's epicentre lies along the Ring of Fire, the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.
The Pacific, particularly the Choco region, is one of the poorest regions in the country. Nestled in the dense jungle, much of Choco is highly rural and only reachable by boat or plane, which may pose a problem for authorities in assessing the wider toll.
The quake ravaged cities across the west of the country, including Pereira, Quibdo, Cali and Manizales.
In the country's third-largest city, Cali, search teams and civilians picked through the remains of destroyed buildings, passing large pieces of concrete and other rubble down a long line of volunteers. The desperate scene brought memories of the searches still ongoing in neighbouring Venezuela weeks after that country was devastated by two powerful earthquakes.
Colombia's Geological Service said Monday's quake was the strongest recorded in Colombia "in the 21st century," and that it was followed by 21 less powerful aftershocks.
Colombia's Pacific region around the quake's epicentre lies along the Ring of Fire, the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.
The Pacific, particularly the Choco region, is one of the poorest regions in the country. Nestled in the dense jungle, much of Choco is highly rural and only reachable by boat or plane, which may pose a problem for authorities in assessing the wider toll.
Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver in Cali, said he saw plumes of dust shoot up across the city as buildings collapsed.
Residents and rescue workers were searching the rubble for survivors.
"My entire house shook. I've never lived through such a powerful earthquake," he said. "We're thanking God we're alive."
Authorities said flights were suspended in the airports of Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago, Buenaventura and Pereira as they assessed damage.
The earthquakes left many in the Andean country unnerved after two back-to-back quakes devastated neighbouring Venezuela in late June, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing more than 5,000 people.
Little was known about the extent of the damage in Choco, a remote region where officials reported dozens of injured people and damaged buildings but few other details. Phone signals were out in many parts of region's capital, Quibdo. The town closest to the earthquake's epicentre, San Jose del Palmar, has no airport and is located on top of a mountain ridge along a highway linking the cities of Cali and Pereira.
In Pereira, further south in the coffee-producing mountains of Colombia, photos and videos published by local media showed pieces of the airport ceiling falling down on travellers taking shelter and screaming. In the city, people were shown running through rubble and plumes of dust.
Pereira Mayor Mauricio Salazar told a local radio station that more people were trapped under "a massive quantity of collapsed buildings."
Small earthquakes, known as "temblores," are common in central and western Colombia, but those above a magnitude of six are rare. In 1999, a 6.2-magnitude quake near the city of Armenia killed more than 1,100 people.
Colombia's newly inaugurated president said Monday that he had personally taken charge of the government's response to the emergency in San José del Palmar following the earthquake.
Response to the earthquake presents the first major challenge for de la Espriella, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump who was sworn in as president over the weekend.
Messages of support rolled in from leaders across the Americas, including Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador and the United States.
"The Trump administration is closely monitoring the large earthquake that struck Colombia and stands ready to support the people of Colombia" U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a post on X.
A number of countries offered aid, and the UN deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said: "We stand ready to help as needed."
