He said around 2595 more were injured and at least 195 remained missing. Civilian-run databases suggest the number of missing could be as high as 3900.<\/p>\n
De la Espriella also said 1136 homes were destroyed and yet more damaged.<\/p>\n
Authorities said the deaths were concentrated in cities including Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo, but local leaders and families worried about casualties and damage in rural areas, from where very little information has emerged. Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours as crucial for retrieving people alive, though that can be extended if they have access to food and water.<\/p>\n
Soldiers, rescue personnel and families picked through the rubble today, passing large pieces of concrete by hand along lines of volunteers.<\/p>\n
Standing near the remains of his brother\u2019s collapsed apartment building in Pereira, Jairo Vargas said he made the 220-kilometre drive from Medellin, hoping to find him alive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m absolutely certain he\u2019s here. Absolutely certain,\u201d Vargas said, adding that his brother\u2019s car was still parked outside. But he fears his sibling did not survive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe debris surrounding my brother is soft,\u201d he said, as heavy machinery rumbled nearby. \u201cIt\u2019s possible that it\u2019s protecting him, but we can\u2019t hear any noises anymore. I don\u2019t know. I have little hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Residents](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/residents-and-police-carry-a-survivor-pulled-from-the-rubble-HRQTYCN5MVE3PLNJDHO6XDZ6KU.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Residents and police carry a survivor pulled from the rubble after an earthquake struck Pereira, Colombia (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Colombia’s new president faces his first serious challenge<\/p>\n
The earthquake presents the first major test for first-time officeholder de la Espriella, who entered office just days before the natural disaster. The leader, who split the country in recent elections, now seeks to unite Colombia in its disaster response.<\/p>\n
That challenge was particularly notable in Choco, the region surrounding the quake\u2019s epicenter. It is one of Colombia’s poorest and most neglected regions, often beset by warring armed groups. Much of Choco is accessible only by boat, through the jungle or by airplane.<\/p>\n
Sterling Palacios, a religious and environmental leader in rural parts of the region, said Choco’s capital was devastated along with smaller communities dotting the Atrato River, the region’s most important throughway.<\/p>\n
Homes there have been reduced to rubble and aftershocks continued to rumble, terrifying residents who slept in the streets overnight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are towns where people have lost everything, where people have died, where homes have been destroyed,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a full panorama of the damage, but we know it\u2019s been massive.\u201d<\/p>\n
De la Espriella traveled to Quibdo in Choco where he announced he was mobilising \u201cthe entire military and police apparatus,\u201d as well as deploying engineers, rescue workers and search dogs.<\/p>\n
\u201cChoco will never again be the \u2018land of the forgotten,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Palacios said the government’s response has so far been \u201cconcentrated in the capital,\u201d and that authorities flew the wounded from Quibdo to hospitals in the city of Medell\u00edn.<\/p>\n
The biggest challenge, he said, remains towns in rural areas only reachable by boat \u2014 journeys that can take hours or days. That response is also complicated by a toxic slate of armed groups warring for control of the region who, during the Covid-19 pandemic, blocked healthcare workers from traveling to remote areas.<\/p>\n
He said it could take locals and officials weeks to get a full scope of the devastation there.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a risk and it’s very difficult to predict\u201d what could happen, he said.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-vehicle-is-crushed-by-debris-after-an-earthquake-struck-ca-3DRD4TMILZHLPJF5HG27EWPCME.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
A vehicle is crushed by debris after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Desperate residents seek news of their loved ones<\/p>\n
Families posted information about missing loved ones on citizen-run websites.<\/p>\n
Dana Carolina Zamora posted an image of her missing 60-year-old uncle, Miguel \u00c1ngel Zamora, cradling his dog. The farmer was living in a rural area of El Cairo, not far from the quake’s epicenter in San Jose Del Palmar.<\/p>\n
Local authorities said 80% of El Cairo, a town of about 7000 people, was damaged. Zamora said her uncle lived in a traditional house of sticks and mud.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are afraid. We hope that is not the case, that he is all right and that it is only a communication failure. But we haven\u2019t heard anything from him,\u201d Zamora said.<\/p>\n
The earthquake left many people unnerved after back-to-back quakes devastated neighboring Venezuela in late June, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing more than 6300 people.<\/p>\n
M\u00f3nica S\u00e1nchez owns a small company that makes work uniforms. Her home city, Pereira, was one of the worst hit, and a wall inside the factory collapsed. S\u00e1nchez and her 12 workers got outside just in time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was shocking \u2014 the city fell down around us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In Pereira, one military search team shouted, \u201cCan you hear me!\u201d into the rubble of a collapsed building. Excavators and heavy machinery were seen clearing heavy chunks of concrete.<\/p>\n
Pereira\u2019s municipal government said at least 58 buildings collapsed, while Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said at least 40 buildings had collapsed.<\/p>\n
Both cities enforced curfews to prevent looting. And in Pereira, the city government has banned privately owned vehicles from circulating, to clear the way for ambulances, police and rescue workers.<\/p>\n
The US State Department has announced it would provide $15.5 million for emergency shelter, food and other aid. Governments across Latin America have also lined up to help.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has been a tragedy for the whole city, for thousands of families,\u201d Pereira Mayor Mauricio Salazar told local media, his voice quavering. \u201cBut here we are, and we will continue forward with the hand of God.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rescue crews and civilians painstakingly searched through rubble in the hopes of finding survivors trapped under debris after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566354,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[28708,8215,42,1242,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-566353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-central-south-america","tag-earthquakes","tag-headlines","tag-natural-disasters","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=566353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/566354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=566353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=566353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}