Colombia earthquake kills at least 22 as buildings collapse in several cities

At least 22 people were killed after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia and neighbouring Latin American countries on Monday, bringing down buildings across several cities and leaving others trapped in the rubble, local authorities said.

The Colombian geological service and its American counterpart USGS put the magnitude at 7.4, with an epicentre 100km underground in the west of the country. Colombia had initially put it at 6.6.

The highest reported death toll was in Pereira, a city in Colombia’s coffee-growing region, where Mayor Mauricio Salazar said 18 people had died. In nearby Manizales, Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said three people were killed.

“The situation is critical,” Salazar said after the quake centered in neighbouring Choco province.

One person died in Buenaventura, Colombia’s main Pacific port, when a building collapsed, trapping several people, Mayor Ligia del Carmen Cordoba said.

People remained trapped in Cali, one of Colombia’s largest cities, after more than two dozen structures collapsed, Mayor Alejandro Eder said. He added that the city had asked authorities in Bogota and Medellin to send disaster teams to support rescue efforts.

“At this point, two people have already been rescued alive, one elderly woman and one young girl. There are more people trapped,” Eder told Blu Radio. “We have at least 12 critical points and 25 collapsed structures that we are responding to.”

Colombian officials said they did not fear a tsunami after the early-morning quake, which was also felt in Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.

It prompted building evacuations in Bogota, AFP reporters saw, while news footage showed collapsed buildings elsewhere in the country.

The governor of Colombia’s Choco province wrote on X that there were injuries and serious damage to buildings in the department’s capital Quibdo.

News outlets aired footage of buildings also destroyed in cities such as Pereira and Manizales in a tourist region called Eje Cafetero.

‘Strong, really strong’

“There is no electricity or cell phone coverage. It was strong, really strong. Things fell in my house,” Martha Estrada, a 66-year-old resident of Eje Cafetero, which means coffee-growing region, told AFP.

Alejandro Eder, the mayor of Cali, Colombia’s third largest city, also reported “major damage” that was being evaluated with drones. At least 20 buildings collapsed in the city, with people trapped inside, the mayor said.

The city has requested teams from Bogota and Medellin to aid in rescue efforts, he added.

“The quake was very, very strong,” said Valeria Polo, a 29 year old content creator in Bogota.

Six small airports in western Colombia suspended operations, the civil aeronautics agency said. These airports serve Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura, the agency wrote on X.

Bogota Mayor Carlos Galan said on Blu Radio that damage in the national capital appeared to be limited to cracks in the facades of houses and buildings.

President Abelardo de la Espriella announced he would travel to the quake-hit region.

News outlets aired footage of some buildings with their facades ripped off by the quake.

In Bogota some people ran out into the street in their pajamas as emergency sirens rang out, AFP reporters saw.

Twin earthquakes in Venezuela of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 on June 24 killed more than 6,000 people and caused devastating property damage.