BOGOTA, Colombia — The death toll following a devastating 7.4-magnitude Colombia earthquake has climbed to at least 111 people, as emergency crews sift through the rubble of collapsed buildings across the western part of the nation. The newly sworn-in Colombian president confirmed the rising fatalities on Monday after the powerful early-morning tremor took the region by surprise, damaging hundreds of structures and prompting widespread evacuations.
The epicenter of the seismic event was located approximately 250 miles west of the capital city of Bogota. Colombia’s third-largest city, Cali, took a nearly direct hit from the quake, resulting in the collapse of at least 25 buildings. According to the country’s Interior Ministry, more than 20 towns and cities were impacted by the disaster. In the mountainous city of Manizales, the spire of a local Gothic Cathedral was toppled in the aftermath.
Residents described being caught off guard by the initial tremors. Witnesses reported feeling the ground shift while sitting in dining chairs or working on high floors, prompting immediate evacuations as a second, stronger tremor followed.
Geophysicist and seismic spokesperson Dr. Morgan Paige provided critical insight into the event’s intensity, noting that an estimated 1.5 million people experienced very strong shaking. Dr. Paige clarified that the quake struck at an intermediate depth of roughly 66.5 miles (110 kilometers). While this is significantly deeper than the highly destructive, shallow earthquakes that recently devastated neighboring Venezuela—which struck at just 6 miles (10 kilometers) deep—the intermediate depth still allowed for severe surface impact. Dr. Paige explained that fatalities in these scenarios are most frequently linked to older, vulnerable construction that does not meet modern, stricter building codes.
The disaster occurred in a highly active subduction zone along the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the Nazca tectonic plate is continuously subducting beneath the South American plate. Dr. Paige noted that this western coast region is historically prone to seismic activity, pointing out that Monday’s event was the strongest to hit the country in a decade. It also occurred relatively close to the epicenter of a devastating 1999 earthquake that claimed nearly 2,000 lives.
Despite the high magnitude, Dr. Paige shared a mitigating factor regarding the threat of subsequent tremors. Only one magnitude 5 aftershock was recorded within the first hour of the main shock. Because fewer aftershocks generally indicate a lower probability of triggering additional large-scale seismic events, current forecasts indicate only a 4 percent chance of another magnitude 7 earthquake occurring in the area over the next week.
The sheer force of the tremors was felt far beyond Colombia’s borders, rattling buildings and prompting precautionary evacuations of workers and residents in neighboring Ecuador and Panama.
While small quakes are not uncommon in the mountainous country, emergency authorities are urging the public to stay in place while comprehensive damage assessments are conducted. Rescue workers continue to search the debris for survivors, though operations remain highly cautious due to the lingering threat of further aftershocks.
