Western Colombia earthquake kills 69 in country's strongest tremor in a decade

Bogota,UPDATED: Aug 10, 2026 22:48 IST

At least 69 people were killed after a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, bringing down buildings, trapping residents under debris and forcing evacuations as far away as Bogota. Authorities said cities across the west of the country were badly hit, while rescue teams searched for survivors amid fears of aftershocks.

The earthquake, which Colombia’s Geological Service described as the highest-magnitude earthquake registered in the country in the last decade, was followed by aftershocks of magnitude 2.8 and 4.8. Flights were suspended at the airports in Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago, Buenaventura and Pereira, while the tremor was also felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama, where only minimal damage was reported.

The epicentre was in San Jose del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Choco region, around 400 kilometres west of Bogota, according to the US Geological Survey and Colombian authorities. The USGS said the quake struck at a depth of 107 kilometres. Colombia’s Pacific region around the epicentre lies along the Ring of Fire, the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.

Local officials said at least 40 people were killed in Risaralda department, where the hard-hit city of Pereira is located, and 27 in Valle del Cauca department, home to Colombia’s third-biggest city, Cali. Two more people died in Manizales. The governor of Valle del Cauca said at least three of those killed there were children. Colombia’s interior minister said more than 20 municipalities across the country had been hit.

In Cali, 64-year-old taxi driver Jorge Moncayo said he saw plumes of dust rising across the city as buildings collapsed. “My entire house shook. I’ve never lived through such a powerful earthquake,” he said. “We’re thanking God we’re alive.” Mayor Alejandro Eder said residents were trapped in at least 19 collapsed buildings.

In Pereira, local media images showed pieces of the airport ceiling falling on travellers who had taken shelter, as people screamed and ran through rubble. Mayor Mauricio Salazar told a local radio station that at least 18 people had died and many more were trapped under “a massive quantity of collapsed buildings”. In nearby Manizales, one tower of the neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed on to the nave, and Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas urged residents to remain outside in case of aftershocks. Authorities in Choco, the rural state at the epicentre, reported injuries and damaged buildings in the capital, but gave few details.

The earthquake left many Colombians shaken after two back-to-back quakes devastated neighbouring Venezuela in late June, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing more than 5,000 people. Small earthquakes, known as temblores, are common in central and western Colombia, but quakes above magnitude 6.0 are rare. In 1999, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake near Armenia killed more than 1,100 people.

President Abelardo de la Espriella, who was sworn in over the weekend, said he had personally taken charge of the government’s response to the emergency in San Jose del Palmar. “You are not alone. The state is present and taking action,” he said. Messages of support came from leaders across the Americas, including Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador and the United States. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X: “The Trump administration is closely monitoring the large earthquake that struck Colombia and stands ready to support the people of Colombia”, and de la Espriella. A number of countries offered aid, and UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said, “we stand ready to help as needed.”

The earthquake, centred in western Colombia, killed at least 69 people, damaged buildings across several cities and disrupted air travel, as rescuers continued efforts to find survivors and authorities monitored the risk of further aftershocks.

With PTI Inputs

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