Massive 7.4-Magnitude Colombia Earthquake: Live Updates on Damage, Casualties & Rescue Efforts

A powerful magnitude-7.4 earthquake rocked Colombia early Monday, shaking buildings from the Pacific department of Chocó to the capital Bogotá and triggering widespread evacuations across the Andean nation. The Colombian Geological Service located the epicentre near San José del Palenque, Chocó, at a depth of 12 km, a shallow focus that magnified the tremor’s destructive force. Initial reports from national disaster agency UNGRD confirm at least 22 deaths, more than 320 injuries and dozens of people still trapped in collapsed structures in Quibdó, Pereira and the coffee-growing hub of Manizales. Quibdó’s main hospital is operating on emergency generators after its ICU wing suffered structural damage. Local officials report multiple bridges down on Highway 29, hampering the arrival of rescue teams and medical supplies from Medellín and Cali. In Bogotá, commuters fled office towers as the quake set off car alarms and power outages in several neighbourhoods. Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said engineers are inspecting hairline cracks in at least 18 high-rises; no major collapses were recorded in the capital. President Abelardo de la Espriella, sworn in only three days earlier, declared a 30-day national state of emergency during an address from the presidential palace, vowing “every resource of the Republic” to search-and-rescue and to reinforce hospitals already strained by dengue outbreaks. The new conservative leader ordered 6,000 soldiers to join firefighters and Red Cross volunteers as aftershocks—more than 40 so far, the strongest at M 5.6—continue to rattle western Colombia. Seismologists warn that Chocó sits atop the Nazca–South American subduction zone, the same fault that produced the deadly M 7.2 Tumaco quake in 1979. Because Monday’s rupture occurred on a previously unmapped segment, experts at the University of Antioquia say additional moderate shocks are “likely in coming days” as stresses redistribute along the plate boundary. Authorities urged residents to keep emergency kits, avoid re-entering visibly damaged buildings and rely on official channels for updates. The Civil Aviation Authority reported temporary closures at Quibdó’s El Caraño and Pereira’s Matecaña airports for runway inspections; flights are being rerouted through Rionegro and Bogotá. International aid is on standby: neighboring Ecuador offered search dogs and field hospitals, while the United States Southern Command said a C-130 loaded with relief supplies is ready to deploy once Colombian airspace priorities are clarified. The quake arrives at a politically charged moment for Colombia, whose new administration promised an aggressive stance against organized crime and a revival of stalled infrastructure projects. Analysts say the disaster could either derail fiscal austerity plans or provide the president an early opportunity to demonstrate decisive leadership. With rainfall forecast to intensify later this week—raising the risk of landslides on already fractured slopes—emergency officials stress that the next 72 hours will be critical for both rescue operations and preventing secondary disasters.