Strong earthquake causes significant damage and injuries in Colombia

What the report says

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia on Monday morning, causing buildings to collapse and prompting reports of injuries, according to BBC World News. The country’s geological service said the quake hit at 07:34 local time at a depth of 103 km in Chocó province, with the epicentre about 5 km east of San José del Palmar near the Pacific coast.

Officials said the shaking was felt far beyond the epicentre, including in Bogotá and other cities hundreds of kilometres away. In Cali, the mayor said at least 20 buildings had collapsed. Colombia’s aviation authority also reported damage at several regional airports, including in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura. In Chocó, Governor Nubia Carolina Córdoba said people had been injured, though she did not give a figure.

In Bogotá, residents reported evacuations from buildings and shaking that lasted for nearly two minutes. Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said there were reports of cracks in buildings but no serious damage to the capital’s infrastructure so far. Local media and social media video also showed damage in Manizales, including a collapsed building and the spire of a church.

The quake came less than two months after deadly twin earthquakes in neighbouring Venezuela, underscoring the region’s seismic risk. Further assessments of damage and possible aftershocks were still being monitored.