The magnitude 7.4 quake, the strongest to hit Colombia this century according to the national geological service (SGC), struck a region with a long history of seismic activity. Chaco department, at the epicenter, recorded 13 deaths.
The country's hardest-hit city was Cali, home to more than 2 million people and Colombia's third-largest, where at least 85 people died. President Abelardo de la Espriella said roughly 700 people were injured and 188 remained unaccounted for, adding that about 5,000 homes were damaged and dozens of buildings had collapsed outright.
Pereira, the roughly 500,000-strong capital of Risaralda department, reported at least 66 deaths.
Rescue efforts stretched through the night, drawing in police, the military and volunteers alongside emergency crews. Heavy machinery was deployed alongside residents digging through debris by hand, with many left homeless by the disaster.
Authorities declared curfews in Cali and Pereira and a nationwide state of emergency.
Colombia's last comparably powerful quake struck the same region in 1999, killing more than 1,000 people. The disaster also recalled a June earthquake in neighboring Venezuela that killed over 6,300 — a reminder that both nations sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the world's most seismically active zones.
(jh)
Source: PAP
Click on the audio player above for a report by Michał Owczarek