At least 250 people have died and hundreds have been injured in Colombia due to the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that shook the western part of the country on Monday, according to local authorities cited by the news agency Reuters. Firefighters are advancing in search and rescue operations for survivors. “We are determined so that, in this remaining window, those people can be found alive,” declared the President of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, on Tuesday night, after the rescue of a 32-year-old woman in Pereira. Meanwhile, controversy has erupted over the government’s management of international aid arrival. The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has pointed out that Colombia is currently rejecting “the support of international personnel” and has requested “only” financial aid “to assist the affected families.” Some Colombian opposition politicians have expressed their concern. “Time is gold in these emergencies. Unacceptable,” wrote Senator Jennifer Pedraza on X. The Foreign Ministry has assured that it has activated mechanisms to receive international aid, without mentioning whether rescuers will be included. “The first humanitarian aid flights will arrive in the country in the coming hours,” it has assured.
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- PHOTO GALLERY | The earthquake in Colombia, in images
The European Union will send two million euros in aid to the areas affected by the earthquake
The European Union will provide two million euros in aid to the communities in Colombia affected by this week’s earthquake, according to information released this Wednesday by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
“While search and rescue operations continue, the EU is supporting Colombia wherever possible. We are making two million euros available to help communities in the most affected areas,” Von der Leyen wrote on X. (Reuters)
At least 250 dead after the earthquake
Rescue teams made their way through piles of rubble in western Colombia early this morning, asking for silence to hear survivors who might still be trapped under buildings collapsed by a powerful earthquake that, according to departmental sources cited by Reuters, has caused at least 250 deaths — separate reports from affected cities mention 254 fatalities, with 101 dead in Pereira, in the heart of the coffee region, and 95 in Cali, the third largest city in the country.
The magnitude 7.4 earthquake, the most devastating to hit Colombia this century, shook the coffee heartland of the country early Monday, leaving apartment blocks, houses, schools, and health centers cracked, tilted, or completely collapsed.
Additionally, many indigenous communities in the Pacific rainforest region, in the department of Chocó and near the earthquake’s epicenter, remain without electricity or basic services, complicating rescue efforts. (Reuters)
Earthquake in Colombia
Colombia in the 72 hours after the earthquake: uneven deployment and hesitations regarding international aid
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Rescuers repeat like a mantra that the greatest chances of rescuing a victim alive after an earthquake are within the first 72 hours. After that window, the chances drop to 2.5%. Colombia wakes this Wednesday counting 48 of those hours and accelerating rescue operations to try to find the nearly 200 people still missing, according to figures from Asocapitales. So far, the earthquake has left two hundred dead and devastation yet to be calculated.
You can read the full information here
editorial
Colombia, united by tragedy
The harrowing images and initial estimates of the destruction caused by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that shook Colombia must provoke immediate and unconditional solidarity from the international community. The rising death toll, which in a few hours surpassed two hundred, is just the beginning of the difficult accounting of the tragedy. The number of missing remains undetermined, and the ruin of hundreds of buildings will make life very difficult for millions of Colombians for a long time.
Read the full opinion here.
Earthquake in Colombia
Reconstruction after the earthquake challenges De La Espriella’s promise of cuts
The government of Abelardo De La Espriella, with barely four days in power, inherits a battered treasury just as it faces the worst natural disaster of the century. The numbers of dead and injured are rising, in a tragedy followed by reconstruction that will have to be financed with little room for maneuver. “It is still early for an assessment. But probably some tax cuts the government wanted will have to be postponed and even a discussion about additional revenues brought to the table,” José Ignacio López, president of the think tank Anif, told EL PAÍS.
Read the full information here.
Woman rescued alive in Pereira after seven hours of search
The President of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, has celebrated that a 32-year-old woman was rescued alive in the city of Pereira, in the western part of the country, after about seven hours of search by personnel deployed in the area. “A few minutes ago, the firefighters, who are heroes of the homeland, found a 32-year-old woman and we celebrate that they found her alive,” the Colombian executive chief reported in a video shared on social media.
She is Daniela Andrea Largo Sánchez, who was found under the ruins of a hotel that collapsed, according to the Colombian Interior Minister, Rodrigo Lara Restrepo.
Immediately after, De la Espriella indicated that currently more than 40 people are missing in the city of Pereira due to the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that shook the country this Monday. Meanwhile, the city hall has reported 243 people rescued, 83 dead, 279 transferred to clinics and hospitals, 85 injured treated, 14 animals rescued, and 45 missing. All this while about 300 rescuers are operating in the city streets. (Efe)
Good morning. We resume the narration of the consequences of the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that shook Colombia on Monday. At least 224 people died and hundreds were injured, according to the balance of local authorities. Pereira, the capital of the department of Risaralda, which borders San José del Palmar (Chocó), the epicenter of the earthquake, which occurred at 7:34 local time (14:34, Spanish peninsular time), concentrates the highest number of fatalities, with 60 dead.
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