BOGOTA, Colombia (TNND) — A 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit western Colombia on Monday, with the powerful quake shaking as far as neighboring Ecuador, prompting evacuations.
The epicenter of the earthquake has been reported by the U.S. Geological Survey in San Jose Del Palmar, a municipality in the Choco region around 250 miles west of Colombia’s capital of Bogota.
The USGS said the earthquake struck at a depth of 66 miles.
Choco Governor Nubia Córdoba wrote on social media that in the regional capital “there are injuries and serious damage to buildings.”
Monday’s earthquake follows two consecutive 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.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.