At least 132 people have died in Colombia due to the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that shook the western part of the country this Monday at 7:34 a.m. (local time), according to the latest report delivered by the Colombian Association of Capital Cities at 7:00 p.m. Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has estimated that more than 1,500 homes were affected and raised the number of completely collapsed buildings to 61. “I entrust our country to the Lord Jesus Christ,” said the president, who has declared a national emergency and is in Bogotá. Most of the deceased are concentrated in the metropolitan area of Pereira, and severe damage has also occurred in the city of Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca, where the mayor, Alejandro Eder, reported that at least thirty structures have collapsed “with people trapped.” The airports of Cali, Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura have suspended operations after suffering damage from the earthquake.
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- PHOTO GALLERY | The earthquake in Colombia, in images
Earthquake in Colombia
Cali spends the first night after the earthquake: “What comes after this?”
“Violeta, we are the rescue team. If you hear us, scream or make noise.” Firefighters repeat the name of a girl among the rubble of the first floor of the Guadalupe Residential Complex, in the south of Cali. They do it over and over, hoping to receive a response from beneath the concrete. Violeta is 7 years old and had traveled from Bogotá to spend the holidays with her grandmother, Amparo. Both remain trapped somewhere that rescuers have yet to identify.
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Iván Cepeda calls for unity and announces support from the Historic Pact for earthquake victims
The former Colombian left-wing presidential candidate Iván Cepeda made a call for unity and solidarity with the victims of the earthquake that shook much of Colombia this Monday and shared the measures with which the Historic Pact, the party of former president Gustavo Petro, will join the emergency response. “Colombia needs us united: unity, solidarity, and strength. Life first,” Cepeda expressed on his X account while sharing a statement from the National Directorate and the Historic Pact congressional caucus. The party, which since last Friday moved to the opposition after the inauguration of far-right Abelardo de la Espriella as president, announced a national solidarity campaign and assured it will coordinate its actions with authorities and agencies responsible for emergency response.
The earthquake, magnitude 7.4, has left at least 132 dead and more than 570 injured, according to figures from the Association of Capital Cities (Asocapitales) because the government has not released official data since noon this Monday, in addition to dozens of collapsed buildings and severe damage to hospitals, airports, public services, and transportation systems, mainly in the central and western parts of the country. The Historic Pact will set up a humanitarian aid reception point at its Bogotá headquarters and will use its social media and those of its congress members to serve the emergency by disseminating official information and verified community needs. (Efe)
Curfews in Cali and Pereira
The mayors of the Colombian cities of Pereira (center-west) and Cali (west), Mauricio Salazar and Alejandro Eder, respectively, have decreed curfews in their cities to prevent looting and facilitate relief efforts after the magnitude 7.4 earthquake on the Richter scale that shook the country this Monday. “From today at 6:00 p.m. (local time) we have decreed a curfew until 5:00 a.m. (local time) to protect the city’s commerce. This curfew will be in downtown Pereira, in the University Commune, and in the Cuba subcenter,” Salazar specified in statements to the media. Likewise, the mayor of Pereira, capital of the Risaralda department, urged the population not to circulate in vehicles during that same time frame so that “relief agencies can move without difficulties.”
“Today Pereira is going through a difficult situation,” he said after estimating that at least 55 people have died due to the earthquake whose epicenter is near the town of San José del Palmar, in the Chocó department, in the northwest of the country. Another measure adopted by the mayor was to suspend “until further notice” classes since, he specified, there are structures of educational facilities “compromised.” He also added the collapse of “some hospital centers,” as well as 18 buildings “completely collapsed” and another 60 partially affected. (EP)
Read more CAF will donate 500,000 dollars to address the emergency caused by the earthquake in Colombia
President Abelardo de la Espriella reports that 188 people are missing in Cali
President Abelardo de la Espriella delivered a new damage report this Monday night for the earthquake that occurred early in the day. From the Unified Command Post in Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city and where he took office last Friday, the head of state indicated that 188 people are missing in the capital of Valle del Cauca and that search and rescue operations for survivors continue.
The president also confirmed that 35 people have died due to the emergency, 700 injured, 39 affected educational centers, more than 5,000 affected homes, and three completely collapsed hospitals in the city. De la Espriella spoke about public order problems in the city, where looting has been reported in commercial establishments, and announced that security will be reinforced with the presence of 1,000 more uniformed officers.
EARTHQUAKE IN COLOMBIA
Colombia wakes up under a state of emergency due to the earthquake that leaves more than 130 dead
Colombia is still counting its dead. The country wakes up this Tuesday under a national state of emergency after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake shook the western part of the country for four eternal minutes the day before, and was felt as far as Panama and Ecuador. The aftershocks of the tremor – the largest magnitude since 1979 – have so far left more than a hundred dead and over 500 injured, with dozens of buildings completely collapsed. At least 132 people have died, according to the most recent report from the Colombian Association of Capital Cities (Asocapitales). The figures are still considered preliminary.
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Good morning. We resume the narration of the consequences of the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that shook Colombia this Monday. At least 132 people died and more than 570 were injured, according to a partial report from the Colombian Association of Capital Cities (Asocapitales). Pereira, capital of the Risaralda department, 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.
