Colombia earthquake death toll hits 224 as rescue teams search for survivors

Colombia scrambles to find survivors as quake kills 224

BOGOTÁ — Colombia was confronting its deadliest earthquake in decades on Tuesday after a magnitude 7.4 tremor tore through the country's west, killing at least 224 people, injuring more than 570 and leaving rescuers racing against time to reach survivors buried beneath collapsed buildings.

The earthquake, which struck on Monday, became the first major crisis for newly inaugurated President Abelardo De La Espriella, who had taken office only days earlier.

The scale of the disaster was still unfolding as emergency teams moved through damaged communities, hospitals and residential buildings. Reports from affected areas described collapsed structures, disrupted infrastructure and people trapped beneath debris.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the earthquake at 7.4 magnitude and 107 kilometres deep, while Colombia's Geological Service described it as the strongest earthquake recorded in the country during the 21st century.

‘The first priority is rescuing’

Addressing the nation after declaring a state of emergency, De La Espriella said the government had mobilised its full emergency capacity. “The national government has all of its capabilities deployed to protect lives, assist affected communities and deliver aid wherever it is needed.”

He said the immediate priority was finding those still alive beneath the rubble.

The president travelled first to Quibdó, capital of Chocó province, where he promised rent assistance to residents who had lost their homes. He later travelled to Cali, the largest city in western Colombia and one of the areas hit hardest by the earthquake.

The latest figures indicate at least 35 people died in Valle del Cauca, the department where Cali is located, while hundreds were injured.

A baby pulled from the rubble

As darkness fell, the search became a race against exhaustion.

Rescuers and volunteers wearing headlamps crawled over wreckage, listened for sounds beneath concrete and dug through debris with their hands and basic tools.

Among the most striking rescues was that of a six-month-old baby girl and her mother, who were pulled alive from beneath the remains of a five-storey building in Cali.

Firefighters also reported bringing two women and two children out of a collapsed structure.

Mauricio Andrade, a Cali firefighter, said his team was still preparing to reach others trapped inside. “They are alive. We are making space so we can free them and get them out.”

Colombia scrambles to find survivors as quake kills 132

Carmen Yasmin Garcia, a 43-year-old Cali resident who joined the volunteer rescue effort, said seven people had already been pulled from one collapsed building.

Four people and a dog, however, remained trapped. “A moment ago there was scratching but now we can’t hear anything, we still have faith that the dog is alive and we can get these people out.”

Her message was simple: more hands meant more chances of survival.

Buildings collapse across the coffee region

The destruction spread across Colombia's western coffee-growing belt.

In Pereira, rescue crews worked around severely damaged buildings while attempting to reach a young boy trapped beneath a bakery. Crane operators were brought in to remove unstable sections of structures.

A four-storey building collapsed in Pereira, while in Manizales, part of a landmark neo-Gothic cathedral tower came crashing down, scattering masonry onto streets below.

Video from affected areas showed police, firefighters and civilians shovelling rubble by hand, loading debris into trucks and searching for signs of life.

Some residential buildings and emergency facilities were also damaged, with debris falling onto ambulances and other vehicles.

Saul Paz, 69, was inside a residential complex in Cali when the shaking began.

He said the difference between survival and catastrophe appeared to be only seconds. “I think if it had lasted five seconds more there would be nothing left.”

Then came the reality facing thousands of displaced residents: “There are people who went to bed last night with a house and a car and today they won’t have anything.”

Curfews and airport shutdowns

The destruction also forced authorities to impose extraordinary security measures.

Cali, Armenia and Manizales announced curfews amid concerns about looting. Cali's mayor deployed police and military personnel to protect affected neighbourhoods, while the president promised an additional 1,000 security personnel for the city.

The disaster also disrupted aviation.

Flights were suspended at airports serving Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura while engineers examined terminals, runways and other infrastructure for structural damage.

The annual Petronio Álvarez Festival, a major celebration of Pacific music scheduled to begin in Cali on Wednesday, was postponed as the city shifted its focus to emergency response.

Aftershocks keep rescuers on edge

Colombia's Geological Service reported 21 aftershocks by late Monday and warned that further tremors were possible.

The country's vulnerability to earthquakes is rooted in its geography. Colombia lies in a highly active seismic zone where major tectonic plates interact, producing frequent earthquakes, most of them too small to cause significant damage.

Northwestern University seismologist Suzan van der Lee said the earthquake's depth might ordinarily have reduced surface shaking, but its enormous magnitude and location near populated valleys helped make the consequences severe.

“This one was far below the crust, and in theory it shouldn’t cause as much shaking. At this magnitude, it did actually cause a lot of shaking.”

The latest disaster has inevitably revived memories of the 1999 Armenia earthquake, a magnitude 6.2 event that killed more than 1,000 people and devastated parts of the country's coffee region, particularly around Armenia and Pereira.

A new government faces its first disaster

For De La Espriella, the earthquake has transformed the opening days of a new presidency into a test of emergency leadership.

His administration is now confronting simultaneous demands for search-and-rescue operations, medical treatment, temporary housing, infrastructure repairs and public security.

The president's declaration of a national emergency has placed the government's resources behind the rescue effort, while local officials continue to assess damage in cities and communities scattered across western Colombia.

And with rescuers still hearing — and sometimes losing — signs of life beneath the rubble, the final human cost remains uncertain.

For Colombia, the earthquake is no longer measured only by its 7.4 magnitude. It is being counted in homes lost, hospitals damaged, families separated and survivors waiting beneath tonnes of concrete for someone to reach them.