Rescue crews are searching through collapsed buildings across western Colombia for survivors, following the country’s strongest earthquake this century, which has killed at least 132 people and caused widespread devastation, according to local media.
Emergency teams in the hardest-hit cities, including Cali and Pereira, worked through the night and into Tuesday, listening for signs of life and attempting to reach people trapped beneath concrete and debris after the magnitude 7.4 quake struck Monday. The Chocó region, west of both cities, has also been affected, though the full scope of the damage there remains unclear.
Authorities have warned the death toll could continue rising as search teams reach additional affected areas, presenting an early and significant challenge for newly elected President Abelardo de la Espriella.
Dozens of people died in Cali, located roughly 280 kilometers southwest of the capital, Bogotá, with President de la Espriella reporting Monday that 35 people had been killed in the city, home to about 2.2 million people. Numerous buildings there were left dangerously leaning or completely destroyed, forcing residents into the streets.
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Further north, in the Risaralda region where Pereira is located, local authorities reported at least 40 deaths. Authorities also confirmed nine deaths in Chocó, two in Caldas, and one in Antioquia, involving a 73-year-old victim.
Initial injury reports put the number at 87, though de la Espriella later said 700 people had been injured in the Valle del Cauca department alone. By Monday night, more than 2,700 people had been reported missing on citizen-run tracking websites, though that figure doesn’t necessarily reflect officially confirmed missing persons.
Roughly 1,600 buildings have been damaged or destroyed, including the towers of a historic cathedral in Manizales. Several upper floors of a hospital in Cali, including sections dedicated to pediatric care, collapsed entirely, trapping some patients and forcing roughly 600 others to be treated outdoors on a street littered with debris, according to hospital director Irne Torres Castro, speaking to Caracol television.
De la Espriella, who took office just days earlier on Friday, said freeing people trapped beneath rubble remains the government’s top priority. He announced Monday evening that roughly 1,000 security personnel would be deployed to Cali by dawn following reports of looting, with both Cali and Pereira implementing nighttime curfews.
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“Our intention is to cooperate in any way necessary. Here, there are no distinctions or ideological divisions when it comes to defending our people or showing solidarity,” the president told reporters.
Search and rescue operations continued into Tuesday, with soldiers, emergency workers, firefighters, volunteers and relatives digging through collapsed structures. In Cali, volunteers formed human chains to clear concrete and debris by hand, repeatedly pausing to listen for signs of life beneath the rubble.
Firefighters reported rescuing two women and two children from one collapsed building, while other teams continued their search elsewhere. In Pereira, rescue workers said they had made contact with a boy trapped beneath a bakery, while cranes were being used to remove hazardous sections of damaged structures.
Authorities have also sent engineers, rescue personnel and search dogs into Chocó, where the true extent of destruction remains uncertain given the region’s remote and difficult terrain. De la Espriella said the government had mobilized its entire military and police apparatus in response. The rescue effort faces particular obstacles in Chocó, more than 200 kilometers west of Cali and Pereira.
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The earthquake’s epicenter, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, was located in San José del Palmar, a community of roughly 4,800 people about 400 kilometers west of Bogotá. Much of Chocó is accessible only by boat or plane, complicating efforts to assess the full toll there.
Colombia’s Geological Service reported 21 aftershocks by late Monday, with authorities warning further tremors remain possible.
Camila Gomez, deputy programs director for Colombia and Venezuela at the International Rescue Committee, said the earthquake struck a region already facing deep instability, calling it the largest earthquake Colombia has experienced in two decades. She noted that damage assessments are still ongoing, but said there is already a clear need for health and education services, with roughly 50 educational facilities reportedly affected by the quake.
Beyond the extensive search and rescue effort, Colombia has declared a national state of emergency. De la Espriella visited Quibdó, the capital of Chocó, as well as Cali, promising rental subsidies for residents whose homes were damaged.
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Nighttime curfews have been declared in Cali, Armenia and Manizales, with Cali also deploying additional police and military personnel amid looting concerns. Hospitals in five cities were placed on red alert, while authorities suspended airport operations in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura to allow for structural inspections.
Civilians have played a significant role in the immediate response, delivering food and supplies and assisting firefighters in the search for survivors. Carmen Yasmín García, a 43-year-old Cali resident volunteering with rescue teams, said Monday afternoon that her group had freed seven people from a collapsed building, though four others and a dog remained trapped.
“A moment ago, there was scratching, but now we can’t hear anything. We still have faith that the dog is alive and we can get these people out,” García said, appealing for more volunteers with tools to help with the digging.
Authorities have also postponed Cali’s Petronio Álvarez Music Festival, an annual celebration of Pacific coast music originally scheduled to begin Wednesday, along with professional football matches.
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Internationally, the United States announced $15.5 million in emergency assistance for shelter, food and other earthquake relief, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying Washington is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to support Colombia.
The European Union said it has activated its Copernicus satellite service to assist rescue operations. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, whose countries were among the largest contributors of aid to Venezuela following its own twin earthquakes in June, both said they were prepared to assist Colombia as well.
“From El Salvador, we are in communication and ready to provide immediate support with our rescue teams, medical personnel, paramedics, supplies or any other assistance that our Colombian brothers and sisters deem necessary,” Bukele said.
