At least 111 dead as 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes Colombia.
By Catholics for Catholics
A powerful 7.4 earthquake left at least 111 people dead and many buildings collapsed after it hit western Colombia on Monday, authorities said.
The quake, which hit near San José del Palmar on Colombia’s Pacific coast shortly after 7:30 a.m. local time, was the biggest to hit the country in a decade, according to the Colombian Geological Service. The tremor was felt in Bogotá, some 150 miles away, and in neighboring Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela, where twin earthquakes in June killed thousands.
According to a story by Newsmax, the epicenter was in San Jose Del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Choco region about 250 miles west of Bogota, the U.S. Geological Survey and Colombia’s counterpart reported. The USGS said it struck at a depth of 66 miles.
In addition, the temblor also was felt in neighboring Ecuador and Panama—little damage was reported there.
Rescue workers were looking for survivors in the rubble of destroyed buildings in several cities. The quake caused at least 61 buildings to collapse and 52 schools, 18 health centers, 17 community centers and six airports have been affected, President Abelardo de la Espriella told reporters.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake shook several regions of western Colombia on Monday, Aug. 10, killing at least 20 people and causing severe damage to many buildings, including the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as the Manizales Cathedral, in the… pic.twitter.com/L6ySde03h5
— EWTN News (@EWTNews) August 10, 2026
The tremor ravaged cities across the west of the country — Pereira, Quibdo, Cali and Manizales. Residents and search teams picked through the rubble of collapsed buildings amid concerns by authorities of aftershocks. Colombia’s interior minister said more than 20 municipalities across the country had been hit.
Colombia’s Pacific region around the quake’s epicenter lies along the “Ring of Fire”, the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.
Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver in Cali, said he noticed plumes of dust shoot up across the city as buildings went down. Residents and rescue workers were searching the rubble for survivors.
“My entire house shook. I’ve never lived through such a powerful earthquake,” he said. “We’re thanking God we’re alive.”
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