Colombia earthquake: 111 dead after 7.4-magnitude quake, buildings collapse; people trapped
Colombia earthquake: The earthquake struck near San José del Palmar in Chocó province, on Colombia's Pacific coast, and was felt across the country, including in major cities.
At least 111 people have been killed after a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, damaging hundreds of buildings and leaving residents trapped under rubble.
President Abelardo de la Espriella declared an emergency and said he would visit the disaster zone, which is centred around the rural region of Chocó. The emergency declaration is expected to expedite funding for recovery efforts.
The epicentre was near San José del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in Chocó, around 400 km west of Bogotá, according to the US Geological Survey and Colombia’s Geological Service. The USGS said the earthquake struck at a depth of 107 km (66 miles). The quake was also felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama, although minimal damage was reported there.
Colombia earthquake: 111 killed, hundreds of buildings damaged
🚨🇨🇴 Impresionante como se
derrumba este edificio en Pereira, Risaralda Colombia. Sismo de 7.4 de magnitud sacudió esta mañana varias zonas de este país. pic.twitter.com/4x8PawRHGZ
The earthquake ravaged cities and towns across western Colombia, including Pereira, Quibdó, Cali and Manizales.
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Authorities said more than 20 municipalities across the country were affected. Residents and rescue teams searched through the rubble of collapsed buildings as officials warned of possible aftershocks.
Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia, August 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
In Cali, Mayor Alejandro Eder said people were trapped in at least 19 collapsed buildings.
In Pereira, local media showed parts of the airport ceiling falling as travellers took shelter. Mayor Mauricio Salazar said at least 18 people had died in the city and that others remained trapped under collapsed buildings.
In nearby Manizales, one tower of the city’s neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed onto the nave. The mayor urged residents to remain outside because of the risk of aftershocks.
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Authorities in Chocó reported injuries and damaged buildings in the regional capital, Quibdó, but said detailed assessments were still underway.
Colombia earthquake: Airports suspend flights
Flights were suspended at airports in Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, Buenaventura and Pereira following the earthquake, according to authorities.
The disruption comes as officials continue to assess structural damage and the accessibility of affected areas.
The rural location of the epicentre could complicate the emergency response. Much of Chocó is densely forested and remote, with some areas accessible only by boat or plane, making it difficult for authorities to assess the full extent of the damage.
🇨🇴 Death toll in Colombia rises to 74.
A 7.4 quake just ripped through western Colombia. Dozens of buildings flattened, people still trapped under rubble in Pereira, Cali, and Manizales.
Residents dig through the debris of a collapsed building after an earthquake, in Cali, Colombia August 10, 2026. (REUTERS)
Colombia earthquake: Strongest in a decade
Colombia’s Geological Service said the earthquake was the strongest recorded in the country in the last decade.
The main quake was followed by two aftershocks measuring 2.8 and 4.8 magnitude.
The Pacific region around the epicentre lies along the Ring of Fire, a zone of seismic activity around the Pacific Ocean where many of the world’s earthquakes occur.
🚨 ¡MOMENTO EXACTO DEL COLAPSO!
Devastador terremoto de 7.4 sacude a Colombia y derriba edificaciones 🇨🇴
Un impactante video aficionado capturó el instante preciso en el que un edificio del centro de Pereira se desplomó por completo, generando pánico masivo y cubriendo las… pic.twitter.com/FYDDu7VBN0
Residents and emergency personnel dig through the debris of a collapsed building after an earthquake, in Cali, Colombia August 10, 2026. (REUTERS)
First major crisis for President Abelardo de la Espriella
The earthquake presents the first major challenge to newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office over the weekend.
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The president said he had personally taken charge of the government’s response to the emergency in San José del Palmar.
“You are not alone. The state is present and taking action,” he said.
Messages of support came from leaders across the Americas, including Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador and the United States.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration was closely monitoring the earthquake and was ready to support Colombia. The United Nations also said it was ready to provide assistance if needed.
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World · Explainer · Data
Latin America's 10 deadliest earthquakes
The region sits atop a complex network of fault lines and has suffered some of the world's most destructive quakes — together, these ten claimed more than 626,000 lives.
.
.
Ranked by lives lost
12010 · HaitiM 7.0
.
316,000
deaths
21868 · Ecuador–ColombiaM 7.7
.
70,000
deaths
31970 · PeruM 7.9
.
66,794
deaths
41797 · EcuadorM 8.3
.
40,000
deaths
51939 · Chile (Chillán)M 8.3
.
30,000
deaths
61812 · VenezuelaM 7.7
.
26,000
deaths
71868 · Arica (then Peru, now Chile)M 8.5
.
25,000
deaths
81976 · GuatemalaM 7.5
.
23,000
deaths
91797 · Venezuela (Cumaná)M N/A
.
16,000
deaths
101861 · Argentina (Mendoza)~M 7.2 est.
.
14,000
deaths
Death tolls and magnitudes as recorded in the NOAA/NCEI Significant Earthquake Database; figures for older quakes are estimates. Bars are scaled to the Haiti toll.
By the numbers
316,000
Deaths in the 2010 Haiti quake — the deadliest here, and the 2nd-deadliest in recorded history
626,000+
Combined toll across all ten quakes
1797–2010
The span these ten disasters cover
M 9.5
Strongest quake ever recorded — Chile, 1960 (not the country's deadliest)
Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Chile each appear more than once — among the region's most seismically exposed countries.
Notable disasters
.1970 Peru — triggered the deadliest landslide in history; ice and rock buried Yungay and Ranrahirca at up to 335 km/h, killing about 19,000 in Yungay alone.
.1868 Arica — the quake's tsunami razed Peruvian ports and sent waves as far as Hawaii and New Zealand.
.1812 Venezuela — destroyed around 90% of Caracas, striking during the revolutionary war against Spain.
.2010 Haiti — caused an estimated $8 billion in losses, close to 120% of the country's 2009 GDP.
.1976 Guatemala — left nearly 1.2 million people homeless and destroyed about two-fifths of the country's hospitals.
Why the tolls ran so high
.Weak construction — adobe and unreinforced concrete, often with little or no anti-seismic design, collapsed in seconds.
.Dense populations — several quakes struck capitals and crowded cities such as Port-au-Prince, Caracas and Guatemala City.
.Limited response capacity — poor infrastructure and emergency services hampered rescue and relief.
.Secondary hazards — landslides and tsunamis compounded the death tolls in Peru and Arica.
.A restless geology — Latin America sits atop a complex network of fault lines along active plate boundaries.
Chile's 1939 disaster prompted the country's first anti-seismic building code.
Data: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) / World Data Service for Geophysics, Significant Earthquake Database. Magnitudes and tolls for older events are estimates and may vary by source.
Small earthquakes are common in central and western Colombia, but quakes above magnitude 6 are relatively rare.
In 1999, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake near the city of Armenia killed more than 1,100 people.
The latest earthquake also comes after two powerful earthquakes struck neighbouring Venezuela in late June, killing more than 5,000 people and destroying hundreds of buildings.
Rescue teams are continuing to search collapsed structures for survivors as authorities assess the damage and respond to the emergency across western Colombia.
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Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia, August 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
Residents dig through the debris of a collapsed building after an earthquake, in Cali, Colombia August 10, 2026. (REUTERS)
Residents and emergency personnel dig through the debris of a collapsed building after an earthquake, in Cali, Colombia August 10, 2026. (REUTERS)