A powerful earthquake struck western Colombia at 7:34 a.m. local time on Monday, August 10, 2026, killing at least 111 people and injuring 87 others across several major cities. President Abelardo De La Espriella, who was inaugurated just days before, declared a national state of emergency and said rescuing those trapped under rubble was the government's immediate priority.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) measured the quake at magnitude 7.4, with its epicentre near San José del Palmar, a small town of roughly 4,800 to 5,000 people in the Chocó region on Colombia's Pacific coast. The USGS recorded the depth at approximately 107 kilometres. Colombia's own Geological Service issued a comparable figure after an upward revision.
The death toll, confirmed by President De La Espriella around midday local time, is expected to rise. Rescue crews are still searching collapsed buildings, and the full extent of destruction in remote Chocó communities near the epicentre remains unknown.
The heaviest casualties fell on the departments of Risaralda and Valle del Cauca. Risaralda recorded at least 40 deaths, including at least 18 in the city of Pereira. Valle del Cauca recorded at least 27 deaths, among them three children in the town of Calima El Darién. In Cali, Colombia's third-largest city, the city's mayor reported that at least 20 to 25 buildings had collapsed with people trapped inside.
The structural damage across the region was extensive. At least 1,575 homes, 18 health centres, and 52 schools sustained damage. Sixty-one buildings collapsed entirely and 37 homes were totally destroyed.
Colombia's civil aviation authority suspended operations at airports in at least six western cities — Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura — for structural inspections. The timeline for their reopening is not yet known.
Colombia's Geological Service recorded 21 aftershocks by late Monday. The USGS noted a magnitude-5.0 aftershock roughly one hour after the main quake; tremors of 2.8 and 4.8 magnitude were also recorded. Colombia's National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) confirmed there was no tsunami threat to the Pacific coast.
The quake was felt across the borders of Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. Venezuela is still recovering from twin earthquakes in June that killed more than 6,000 people, a toll that has sharpened regional anxiety about seismic risk along this stretch of the Pacific rim.
Some news outlets described Monday's earthquake as the strongest to have struck Colombia this century; others characterised it as the most powerful in the past decade. The sources conflict on this point and it cannot be resolved from available reporting.
The Chocó region, where the epicentre lies, is among the country's poorest. The quake's path of destruction ran through the coffee-growing corridor linking Pereira, Manizales, and Cali — urban centres with densely built housing. How many people remain trapped under rubble is not yet known, and the death toll is likely to climb as rescue teams reach areas still cut off.
Comments (0)