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20 People Killed After 7.4-Magnitude Quake Hits Colombia, Damages Buildings | VIDEO
Sneha | August 11, 2026 12:11 AM CST

At least 20 people died due to a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western Colombia on Monday, damaging buildings, triggering evacuations and leaving an unspecified number of people injured, officials said.

The epicentre was near San José del Palmar, a community of around 4,800 people in the Chocó region, about 400 kilometres west of Bogotá, according to the US Geological Survey and Colombia’s geological service. The USGS said the quake occurred at a depth of 107 kilometres.

The tremor was also felt in neighbouring Ecuador.

Buildings Damaged, Residents Evacuated

Chocó Governor Nubia Córdoba said there were injuries and serious damage to buildings in Quibdó, the regional capital with a population of around 130,000. She did not provide further details.

Footage shared by local media showed homes and smaller buildings collapsing in Pereira, Cali and Quibdó. In Manizales, about 300 kilometres west of Bogotá, a tower of the city’s neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed onto the nave.

In Cali, a city of around two million people, Mayor Alejandro Eder said residents were trapped in at least 19 collapsed buildings.

The earthquake also prompted evacuations in Bogotá, although the capital is located hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre.

President Announces Emergency Response

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said on X that he would personally oversee recovery efforts and establish an emergency response centre in San José del Palmar.

Earthquakes known locally as “temblores” are common in central and western Colombia, although tremors above magnitude 6.0 are relatively rare.

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake near Armenia in 1999 killed more than 1,100 people.

The latest quake follows two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in Venezuela in late June. Those earthquakes reportedly destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed more than 5,000 people.

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