{"id":594073,"date":"2026-08-15T13:12:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T13:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/594073\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T13:12:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T13:12:25","slug":"hope-reborn-in-colombia-as-signs-of-life-emerge-under-earthquake-debris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/594073\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope reborn in Colombia as signs of life emerge under earthquake debris"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rescuers reported apparent signs of life under the rubble in two of the Colombian cities hit hardest by a massive earthquake, rekindling hopes on Friday that more people could be found alive.<\/p>\n

Search and rescue teams from Venezuela, Argentina and Israel joined the search for survivors following the 7.4 magnitude quake that struck the South American nation on Monday, killing at least 285 people.<\/p>\n

At 96 hours since the temblor hit, the window for survival was narrowing on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"DeadlyA crane lifts a concrete slab to clear the way for rescuers searching through the rubble three days after an earthquake hit Pereira, Colombia (Brandon Pinto\/AP)\n<\/p>\n

The mayor of Pereira, Mauricio Salazar, told radio station FM on Friday that \u201ccontact was made with a woman who was asking for help amid the rubble\u201d of a collapsed hotel at around 4am.<\/p>\n

He suggested other people may have survived but were still trapped.<\/p>\n

Authorities in Cali also reported apparent signs of life, saying at least three people were trapped under collapsed buildings.<\/p>\n

The search and rescue effort has been extended into Saturday.<\/p>\n

With the overall search for survivors winding down, Colombia faced another challenge: rebuilding a nation shattered by a disaster that affected more than 100,000 people.<\/p>\n

Tens of thousands of houses were damaged or destroyed, according to the government.<\/p>\n

Authorities have also reported damage to thousands of schools, medical facilities and community centres in more than 400 cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no place to live, we lost everything,\u201d Ebert Jonathan Morales, 38, said on Friday in a shelter in Cali.<\/p>\n

\"DeadlyA firefighter working on rescue efforts holds a Colombian flag amid the rubble three days after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia (Ivan Valencia\/AP)\n<\/p>\n

Mr Morales is one of the 102,263 people whose lives were upended by earthquake.<\/p>\n

The government says more than 280 people died, nearly 4,000 people were injured and hundreds remain missing.<\/p>\n

Private groups estimate the number of missing is in the thousands.<\/p>\n

Mr Morales said he, his wife and four children are trying to rebuild from scratch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe earthquake destroyed several neighbourhoods in the city,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany houses were damaged, and buildings collapsed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to stay here until the government gives us some help, some support.\u201d<\/p>\n

The devastation has tested Colombia\u2019s President Abelardo de la Espriella, who was inaugurated just days before the earthquake shook the country\u2019s west.<\/p>\n

\"DeadlyVolunteers in Bogota, Colombia, sort aid for people affected by the earthquake (Fernando Vergara\/AP)\n<\/p>\n

Mr De la Espriella acknowledged on Thursday night that \u201cthe situation is complex\u201d and announced a plan to partner with private companies to rebuild, as well as subsidies for families who are homeless.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not overcome this tragedy alone as a government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need the private sector to rebuild Colombia together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s earthquake was the most powerful to hit Colombia this century.<\/p>\n

Government aid has yet to arrive in some areas, where many people are relying on volunteers and neighbours for help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rescuers reported apparent signs of life under the rubble in two of the Colombian cities hit hardest by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":594074,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[246,61,60,82],"class_list":["post-594073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594073","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=594073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}