World News Updates: More than 100 dead and buildings collapsed after 7.4-magnitude quake
Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia. (Photo: AP)
A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake tore through western Colombia early Monday, killing at least 111 people and injuring 87 others as it toppled buildings across several regions. The tremor, the strongest to strike the country this century, was centered in San José del Palmar, a small town in the remote Chocó department, and was strong enough to be felt in Bogotá, roughly 250 miles away, as well as in neighboring Ecuador, Venezuela and Panama. Two smaller aftershocks followed the initial shock.
The damage was staggering: officials estimate around 1,600 structures were affected, with 61 buildings collapsing entirely. Pereira emerged as the hardest-hit city, recording at least 40 fatalities, while Chocó and Valle del Cauca departments reported a dozen and 27 deaths respectively, among them several children.
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President Abelardo de la Espriella declared a national disaster and emergency funding measures, vowing that rescue crews would prioritize pulling survivors from the rubble and pledging his government’s full support for affected communities. He also announced plans to travel to the disaster zone himself.
International offers of assistance poured in from the United States, several European nations, and Latin American neighbors, as Colombia confronts its most severe seismic disaster in years coming just weeks after devastating quakes killed thousands in Venezuela.
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