{"id":589179,"date":"2026-08-10T19:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T19:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/589179\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T19:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T19:08:11","slug":"at-least-77-killed-after-7-4-magnitude-earthquake-hits-colombia-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/589179\/","title":{"rendered":"At least 77 killed after 7.4-magnitude earthquake hits Colombia \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

At least 77 people were killed after a powerful earthquake \u200cstruck western Colombia<\/a> early on Monday, knocking down buildings across several cities and leaving others trapped in the rubble. <\/p>\n

The quake struck just days after Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in as president, \u200bthrusting the new administration into its first major crisis, with memories still fresh of devastating twin earthquakes in neighbouring Venezuela<\/a> in June. <\/p>\n

The 7.4 magnitude quake, according to the US Geological Survey, struck at a depth of 107km near San Jose del Palmar, in Choco, a sparsely populated province on Colombia\u2019s Pacific coast, but was felt in major cities nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cSignificant casualties and \u200bdamage are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread,\u201d the agency warned.<\/p>\n

The highest reported death toll was in the western province of Risaralda in Colombia\u2019s coffee-growing region, where governor Juan Diego Patino, speaking by \u2060phone to Caracol Television, reported 42 fatalities.<\/p>\n

In the province\u2019s capital of Pereira, social media images showed a building with a cracked facade crash \u200cto \u200cthe \u200bground, sending up a dark cloud of dust and debris as onlookers on the street darted away.<\/p>\n

\"MembersMembers of an urban rescue team work after an earthquake in Manizales, Colombia, on Monday. Photograph: John Bonilla\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

The impact also toppled one of the towers atop a Gothic-style cathedral in Manizales and forced nurses in Cali to wheel patients outside in \u2060hospital beds, social media and television images showed.<\/p>\n

In nearby Manizales, mayor \u200bJorge Eduardo Rojas said three people were killed.<\/p>\n

One person died in Buenaventura, Colombia\u2019s \u200bmain Pacific port, when a building collapsed, trapping several people, mayor Ligia del Carmen Cordoba said.<\/p>\n

People remained trapped in Cali, one of Colombia\u2019s largest cities, after more than \u200ctwo dozen structures collapsed, mayor Alejandro Eder said. He added \u200bthat the city had asked authorities in Bogota and Medellin to send disaster teams to support rescue efforts.<\/p>\n

\"ResidentsResidents stand outside the Cathedral of Manizales after it was damaged in the earthquake. Photograph: John Jairo Bonilla\/AP <\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, two people have already been \u2060rescued alive, one elderly woman and one young girl. There are \u2060more people trapped,\u201d Eder told Blu Radio. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe \u200bhave at least 12 critical points and 25 collapsed structures that we are responding to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chocogovernor Nubia Carolina Cordoba-Curi said there were injuries and significant damage in Quibdo, the provincial capital, and warned residents about aftershocks.<\/p>\n

Smaller earthquakes are not uncommon in Colombia, which is criss-crossed by three ranges of the Andean mountains. However, it is landslides which have historically been the deadliest natural disasters in the country, with the Armero disaster in 1985 killing some 25,000 people.<\/p>\n

Cities in the country\u2019s coffee region, including Armenia and Pereira, suffered a devastating 6.2 magnitude quake in 1999, which killed more than 1,000 people.<\/p>\n

De la Espriella, a right-wing politician who has never before held elected office, said in a \u200cvideo filmed while flying to Bogota that \u2060he was suspending his planned activities to lead emergency co-ordination efforts out of the capital.<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople gather at a park after evacuating their homes due to an earthquake in Cali, Colombia. Photograph: Joaquin Sarmiento\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Colombia\u2019s civil aviation authority said flights were suspended at airports in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura while inspectors checked for structural damage.<\/p>\n

The US tsunami warning system said there was \u200cno tsunami threat after the quake, which occurred at 12.34pm Irish time, was felt in nine departments and all 32 departmental capitals.<\/p>\n

Reuters witnesses in the Venezuelan border state of Tachira and the \u200bcentral-western city of Barquisimeto reported the quake had been felt there. <\/p>\n

Venezuela was hit by devastating twin earthquakes in \u200bJune, which killed more than 6,000 people, mostly on the coast near the capital, Caracas. \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At least 77 people were killed after a powerful earthquake \u200cstruck western Colombia early on Monday, knocking down…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589180,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[9151,246,61,60,82,92549],"class_list":["post-589179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-colombia","tag-environment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science","tag-venezuela"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}