A Powerful Magnitude 7.4 Earthquake Has Hit Colombia, Killing At Least 132 People
Colombia's Geological Service said the quake was the strongest to hit the country in more than 10 years.
A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake has hit western Colombia, killing at least 132 people, while thousands remain missing.
The earthquake struck on Monday, July 10, with the epicenter near San José del Palmar, a town of about 5,000 people in Colombia's Chocó region, roughly 250 miles (400km) west of the capital, Bogotá.
Nearby cities including Pereira, Manizales and Cali were also hit hard, and the shaking was felt as far away as Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama.
Colombia's Geological Service said the quake was the strongest to hit the country in more than 10 years.
Two aftershocks, with magnitudes of 2.8 and 4.8, hit the country later on Monday.
Videos and photos shared by news outlets showed buildings collapsing in multiple cities, and local officials said they were receiving reports of people trapped under the rubble.
An aid group said its teams near the epicenter in Chocó were reporting damage to hospitals and clinics in a region that was already dealing with armed conflict and high poverty.
Colombia's civil aviation authority said airports in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura had sustained damage and had suspended operations for safety checks.
At least 132 people were killed, and more than 87 people were injured, according to Al Jazeera.
Colombia's president Abelardo De La Espriella, who took office just days before the earthquake struck, said on X that he had "directly assumed leadership of the emergency response" and was traveling to Bogotá to focus on the crisis.
He later declared a state of emergency, according to AP.
Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, and the full scale of the damage is not yet known.
Read More
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
