Powerful tremor collapses buildings across western regions, trapping survivors under rubble as rescue efforts intensify. The scene unfolded as the effects of a devastating earthquake were felt miles away.
A deep roar rolled through western Colombia just after dawn on Monday. Within seconds, walls cracked, towers toppled, and streets filled with dust and cries for help. A magnitude 7.4 earthquake had struck near the small town of San José del Palmar in Chocó department.
By afternoon, authorities confirmed at least 111 people dead and 87 injured. Many more remained trapped. President Abelardo de la Espriella, only days into office, declared a national state of emergency and ordered full deployment of rescue teams. “The first priority is rescuing the people trapped under the rubble,” he said.
Epicenter and Widespread Shaking
The quake hit at 7:34 a.m. local time at a depth of roughly 96 to 110 kilometers. The U.S. Geological Survey and Colombia’s Geological Service both measured it at 7.4, the strongest earthquake Colombia has experienced in a decade. A magnitude 5.0 aftershock followed less than an hour later.
Shaking reached major cities including Cali, Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Medellín and Bogotá. It was also felt in Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela. No tsunami threat was issued in relation to the earthquake event.
Collapses and Human Cost
Hardest hit was the coffee-growing Risaralda department, where more than 40 people died, including in the city of Pereira. In Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, at least 25 buildings collapsed. Rescue crews pulled dozens from the debris while others remained buried. One of the towers of Manizales’ Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary fell into the nave. A terminal section at Matecaña International Airport in Pereira also partially collapsed after the earthquake struck.
Flights were suspended at six airports for safety inspections. Power, water and gas outages hit several communities. In Chocó, the governor reported deaths, dozens of injuries and severe damage in Quibdó and surrounding municipalities due to the earthquake’s impact.
The disaster comes less than two months after twin earthquakes in neighboring Venezuela killed more than 6,000 people. Colombia’s location along the Nazca and South American plate boundary has produced powerful intermediate-depth quakes before, including a similar earthquake event in the same region in 1979.
Rescue operations continued into the evening. Bogotá sent 100 specialized personnel to Cali. Ecuador offered a 47-member search-and-rescue team. International offers of support arrived from the United States and other nations in response to the earthquake.
Authorities warned that the death toll is likely to rise as more sites are cleared and aftershocks continue. For families still waiting outside ruined buildings, the ordeal caused by this earthquake had only just begun.
This morning’s magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Colombia caused strong shaking across western Columbia. An estimated 1.5 million people experienced shaking near intensity 7, strong enough to cause damage to unreinforced masonry buildings especially. The earthquake occurred at a… pic.twitter.com/LZizq9Cu1b
— USGS Earthquakes (@USGS_Quakes) August 10, 2026
#AEstaHora I Desde la Sala de Crisis Nacional de la UNGRD, inicia el Comité Nacional para el Manejo de Desastres, presidido por el presidente de la República, Abelardo de la Espriella, para analizar las afectaciones ocasionadas por el sismo registrado en la mañana de este lunes… pic.twitter.com/5BbLyTWNyy
— UNGRD🇨🇴 (@UNGRD) August 10, 2026
A 7.4 earthquake just killed at least 77 people in western Colombia, and workers are still digging bodies out of collapsed buildings pic.twitter.com/5amY9qIGks
— Thought Catalog (@ThoughtCatalog) August 10, 2026
Así fue el momento en que un edificio de tres pisos colapsó tras el terremoto de magnitud 7,4 en Pereira pic.twitter.com/DMGpFyMtsR
— Notivision Colombia (@Notivision_Col) August 10, 2026
🇨🇴 #COLOMBIA | 👉 Así colapsó parte del Hospital Universitario del Valle, en Cali, tras el potente sismo de magnitud 7,4 que sacudió al país. La ciudad es una de las más afectadas por la emergencia. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/wh50yye3jf
— Observador (@GrupoObservador) August 10, 2026
CIUDADANOS SE UNEN AL RESCATE TRAS COLAPSO DE EDIFICIO EN CALI
— Contraluz | Política, Economía y más (@contraluzec_) August 10, 2026
Habitantes del sector de la Autopista Sur con calle 39, en Cali, participan en las labores de búsqueda y rescate luego del colapso de un edificio provocado por el fuerte sismo de magnitud 7,4.
Los ciudadanos… pic.twitter.com/D8WAVk0qiq
Un edificio colapsó en la zona centro de Pereira, Colombia, en las inmediaciones de la Plaza de Bolívar y junto al emblemático monumento “El Bolívar Desnudo”, luego del potente sismo de magnitud 7.4 registrado la mañana de este lunes. #Internacional #Colombia #Pereira #Sismo pic.twitter.com/xfjx1NnoI0
— El Dato Noticias Morelos 📰 (@eldatomx) August 10, 2026
AI Disclosure: This article was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools and was reviewed and edited by the Glowls News editorial team before publication.