A morning earthquake shook large parts of Colombia, including capital Bogota, on Monday, prompting people to evacuate homes and buildings, and causing at least 20 deaths.
Eighteen of the deaths occurred in Pereira, and two in Manizales.
Tremors were felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama, besides the border region near Venezuela that saw deadly temblors two months ago.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Colombian agency recorded a 7.4 magnitude, while relatively deep, news agency AP reported.
The Colombian geological service reported that the quake's epicentre was in Choco province, on the Pacific coast, initially reporting a magnitude of 6.6.
{{/usCountry}}The Colombian geological service reported that the quake's epicentre was in Choco province, on the Pacific coast, initially reporting a magnitude of 6.6.
{{/usCountry}}Both agencies pinpointed the epicentre to San Jose del Palmar, about 400 kilometres west of Colombia’s capital, Bogota, and said the quake occurred at 7:34 am local time on Monday, August 10.
The depth was recorded at 79 km or deeper, said the UNGRD, the South American country's federal agency. The USGS specified the epicentre was 5 km east of San Jose del Palmar.
Visuals on social media showed buildings cracking and people tripping on the streets, as far as El Cable in Manizales, 120 km from San Jose del Palmar. Footage published by local media showed damage to residential and office buildings in other nearby cities. Blu Radio reported cracks in buildings in Cali, Armenia and Pereira, as well as Medellin.
The mayor of Cali, Colombia's third largest city, reported “major damage”. News outlets aired footage of some buildings with their facades ripped off by the quake.
In Bogota some people ran out into the street in their pajamas as emergency sirens rang out, news agency AFP reported.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said in a post on X that he will personally supervise recovery efforts and install an emergency center in San Jose del Palmar.
The temblor follows two back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes in Venezuela in late June. Those earthquakes destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed more than 5,000 people.
The 79-km depth of the Colombia quake means it is of intermediate severity on that count. The June quakes in Venezuela had immense power as those were shallow at 10–22 km depth.
Monday's earthquake did shake buildings in Bogota, but the capital’s mayor said the city had experienced no preliminary damage. Medellin’s mayor said there were no initial reports of injuries in the city, Colombia’s second largest.
Provincial governor says
“We have just experienced a major earthquake in the [province] of Choco. We are concerned about aftershocks,” governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba-Curi said on X.
“Although the epicenter was near San Jose del Palmar, there are injuries and significant damage to buildings in the (provincial) capital, Quibdo. We are already carrying out a damage assessment and will issue the first official report shortly,” he added.
(with inputs from Bloomberg)