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Earthquake death toll revised to 22 – officials
The death toll has been revised to 22, officials confirmed, after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake caused destruction in Colombia.
Local mayors had already announced the death of 20 people as a result of the natural disaster.
In Manizales, mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said a further person had been killed, bringing the figure to three.
One person has also died in Buenaventura, Colombia’s main Pacific port, when a building collapsed.
Key events
47 dead and buildings collapsed after 7.4-magnitude earthquake shakes western Colombia
At least 47 people have been killed, according to the latest figures from officials, and dozens of buildings have collapsed in cities across western Colombia.
The quake caused serious damage to buildings and prompted evacuations as far away as Bogota.
Colombian president Abelardo de la Espriella says he will personally oversee recovery efforts. The quake was also felt in neighbouring Ecuador.
Earthquake death toll revised to 22 – officials
The death toll has been revised to 22, officials confirmed, after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake caused destruction in Colombia.
Local mayors had already announced the death of 20 people as a result of the natural disaster.
In Manizales, mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said a further person had been killed, bringing the figure to three.
One person has also died in Buenaventura, Colombia’s main Pacific port, when a building collapsed.
People remain trapped in Cali, one of Colombia’s largest cities, after more than two dozen structures collapsed, mayor Alejandro Eder said.
He added that the city had asked authorities in Bogota and Medellin to send disaster teams to support rescue efforts.
“At this point, two people have already been rescued alive, one elderly woman and one young girl. There are more people trapped,” Eder told Blu Radio.
“We have at least 12 critical points and 25 collapsed structures that we are responding to.”
Colombia’s Geological Service said that it had been “the highest magnitude earthquake registered in Colombia in the last decade” and that it had been followed by two 2.8 and 4.8 magnitude aftershocks.
Authorities also reported that flights were suspended in the airports of Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago y Buenaventura and Pereira.
Here are some images of the destruction caused by the earthquake in Colombia today:
Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver in Colombia’s third-biggest city, Cali, said he saw plumes of dust shoot up across the city from him home in the mountains as buildings collapsed after the earthquake.
Residents in the city and rescue workers were already searching the rubble of collapsed buildings Monday morning.
“My entire house shook,” he said. “I’ve never lived through such a powerful earthquake.”
At least 20 dead after Colombia earthquake
The death toll after a strong earthquake that rocked western Colombia has risen to at least 20, authorities said.
In the town of Pereira, 18 people were killed and others were trapped in buildings that collapsed, mayor Mauricio Salazar told Caracol Radio.
In Manizales, two people were killed, mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said in an interview with Blu Radio.
Tom Phillips
Manizales’ mayor, Jorge Eduardo Rojas Giraldo, said more than 12 buildings and 20 homes had been partially or completely destroyed in that city.
At least two people had died as a result of the quake, Rojas added in a social media video. He said citizens needed to be “completely ready” for aftershocks.
“Do not go back into the buildings yet – I know this isn’t easy but stay outside for a little while at least because there could be an aftershock.”
The mayor of Cali, Alejandro Eder, said at least 20 buildings had collapsed in his city and that some people were trapped inside. He did not specify how many.
“Right now, we are trying to map out what has happened, firstly to protect lives and secondly to be able to push ahead with any kind of rescue that might be necessary,” Eder said, urging citizens to stay calm.
Cali’s mayor also instructed residents to check their buildings for structural damage. “If you do not feel safe, if you see very large cracks, please, leave the building,” he advised.
Colombian president Abelardo de la Espriella said in a post on X that he will personally supervise recovery efforts and install an emergency centre in San Jose del Palmar.
The quake follows two back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes in Venezuela in late June. Those earthquakes destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed more than 5,000 people.
Footage shared by local media outlets showed homes and small buildings collapsing in the cities of Pereira, Cali and Quibdo.
In Manizales, a city about 190 miles (300km) west of Bogota, one of the towers of the neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed and fell on the nave.
In Cali, a city of 2m people, mayor Alejandro Eder said that residents were trapped in at least 19 buildings that had collapsed.
Small earthquakes, known as “temblores,” are common in central and western Colombia, but those above 6.0 magnitude are rare. In 1999, a 6.2 magnitude quake near the city of Armenia, killed more than 1,100 people.
Six airports in Colombia suspend operations
Six airports damaged in today’s earthquake in Colombia have suspended operations, the civil aeronautics agency said.
These airports in western Colombia serve Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura, the agency wrote on X.
Earthquake on Colombia’s Pacific Coast causes injuries and damage
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia today, shaking the South American nation and neighbouring Ecuador and causing people to evacuate homes and buildings.
At least 20 buildings collapsed in an earthquake on Monday in the Colombian city of Cali, with people trapped inside, mayor Alejandro Eder said. The city has requested teams from Bogota and Medellin to aid in rescue efforts, he added.
The epicentre was in San Jose Del Palmar, a municipality in the Choco region about 250 miles (400km) west of Colombia’s capital, Bogota, the US Geological Survey and Colombia’s counterpart reported. The USGS said it struck at a depth of 66 miles (107km).
Choco governor Nubia Córdoba said on social media that in the regional capital, “there are injuries and serious damage to buildings,” without providing further details.
The temblor follows two back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes in Venezuela in late June. Those earthquakes destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed more than 5,000 people.
