A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday morning, collapsing buildings and damaging airports in several cities. Local mayors have reported at least 20 deaths so far.
The quake was measured at 7.4 and hit at 7:34 a.m. local time, shaking the country for several minutes. DR reports that the epicenter was in the Chocó region in the west of the country.
According to DR, several local media outlets reported collapsed buildings in multiple Colombian cities. Photos and videos circulating on social media show people fleeing into the streets and buildings shaking or falling.
The mayor of Pereira said 18 people died in the city, according to Reuters as cited by DR. The mayor of Manizales told a local television station that at least two people had been killed there. In Chocó, the regional governor reported several injured.
Colombia’s civil aviation authority said airports had been damaged in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura, Reuters reported. The mayor of Cali told the same news agency that 20 buildings had collapsed in his city.
Colombian outlet El Tiempo published images from Manizales showing that one of the towers on the city’s cathedral had toppled. Reuters described the cathedral as partially destroyed.
Felt across borders
Norwegian outlet ABC Nyheter reports that the Colombian Geological Survey put the magnitude at 7.4 and the depth at 96 kilometers. The same outlet, citing AFP, said the tremor was also felt in Panama.
ABC Nyheter further reports that the governor of Chocó described injuries and damaged buildings in Quibdó, the regional capital. DR notes that the quake was felt in the capital, Bogotá, some 400 kilometers from the epicenter, and in neighboring Ecuador.
The Colombian Geological Survey publishes its seismic monitoring data on its own website, which other outlets used as the basis for reporting the magnitude and depth. DR’s report was based largely on Reuters and on Colombian media accounts from the affected cities.
The reports of damage, casualties and airport disruption emerged in the hours after the morning quake. Both DR and ABC Nyheter published their accounts on August 10, the same day the earthquake struck, with figures still being updated by local authorities.
Casualty numbers in the initial reporting come from individual city mayors rather than a single national tally. DR marked its article as being updated as new information arrives.
