READING, Pa. – Numbers on Monday night showed just how devastating the earthquake in Columbia has been. At least a 111 people were reported dead and 87 injured, while more than 1,600 buildings were damaged.
For people with family in Colombia, the day has been full of fear.
“It’s been one of the biggest ones in a few decades. So, yeah, it’s scary,” said Berks County resident Jobany Bedoya.
Bedoya had been checking his phone all day to hear updates from family.
“It’s been every couple minutes,” he said.
The hardest part is waiting to hear back.
“They seemed to be doing OK,” Bedoya said. “Just shook up, obviously. It’s very, very, serious.”
Bedoya said he heard the news about the earthquake when he got to work.
“I looked it up, and I was just blown away,” he said. “It was very scary. Then kind of like check-in, panic mode kind of starts.”
He said his cousin in Medellin, Columbia’s second-largest city, had to leave her home suddenly.
“She’s like, ‘I didn’t even have a bag. I was in the shower, and all of a sudden, I hear these alarms on my phone.’ And as soon as she got out, she threw on whatever she found, and they just ran out the building,” Bedoya said.
Colombian residents say they could see the ground shaking.
“When we go out to the building, the ground was still moving, so it was a long moment and really scary,” said Olguita Quintero.
Bedoya said some of his friends had to evacuate their building twice.
“The building was literally shaking. I talked to another friend who the building was swerving,” he said. “Everyone freaked out.”
Bedoya said it’s difficult not to feel helpless.
“It’s hard. It’s scary. It’s sad. You wish you could do more. You wish that you can be there, that maybe just provide some moral support,” Bedoya said. “But at the end of the day, what can you really do?”
Even with his family accounted for, Bedoya said he’ll continue check in with them as rescue efforts continue.