At least 20 dead in Colombia after 7.4-magnitude earthquake

SCMP | Aug. 10, 2026, 10:09 a.m. | Original

Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia, on Monday. Photo: AP
Rescue workers and residents stand around a collapsed building in the aftermath of an earthquake in Cali, Colombia, on Monday. Photo: Screengrab from video via Reuters

A fatal earthquake hit western Colombia on Monday morning, burying people in the South American nation under rubble and causing severe destruction to buildings and infrastructure.

At least 18 people died in the western city of Pereira - about 300 km (190 miles) from the capital Bogota - in the 7.4 magnitude quake, Mayor Mauricio Salazar said.

“The situation is critical,” Salazar told Caracol Radio.

Another two people died in the city of Manizales, also about 300 km from Bogota, Mayor ⁠Jorge Eduardo Rojas said in ⁠an interview with Blu Radio.

A man leaves a damaged block of flats in Cali, Colombia, after a fatal earthquake struck on Monday. Photo: AP
A man leaves a damaged block of flats in Cali, Colombia, after a fatal earthquake struck on Monday. Photo: AP

The earthquake struck at 7.34am local time, with the epicentre in San Jose Del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Chocó region around 400 km (250 miles) west of Bogota, the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Colombia’s counterpart reported.

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