A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia’s Chocó department on August 10, killing at least 312 people, injuring more than 4,600, and leaving at least 290 people missing in one of the deadliest seismic events in the country’s recent history.
The earthquake’s epicenter was located near the town of San José del Palmar in Chocó, at a depth of approximately 110 kilometers. Though the epicenter was on the Pacific coast, the worst destruction hit cities hundreds of kilometers inland, including Pereira, Quibdó, Manizales, and Cali, where buildings collapsed and critical infrastructure was severely damaged.
Pereira Among Worst-Hit Cities
Pereira, a city of roughly 500,000 people and capital of Risaralda department, bore the heaviest toll. At least 101 people died there, including three at Matecaña International Airport, which partially collapsed during the shaking. Residents reported 16 people trapped for hours in a commercial building called the Megacable. Pereira subsequently canceled its annual Harvest Festival in a mark of respect for the victims.
In Valle del Cauca, two people died in El Zarzal and 20 buildings collapsed, while two hospitals sustained structural damage. In Chocó, at least 10 people were injured and three remained missing days after the quake. The Colombian Geological Service recorded more than 100 aftershocks in the days following the main event, the largest reaching magnitude 5.0.
National Emergency and International Aid
The Colombian government declared a national emergency and launched coordinated search-and-rescue operations. The education ministry estimated that more than 400,000 students were affected by school closures and building damage across the affected departments. The quake was also felt in neighboring Ecuador and Panama.
The World Bank estimated total direct physical damage at $9.6 billion, a staggering figure for a country already grappling with fiscal pressures. Reconstruction costs could rise significantly once infrastructure repair, economic disruption, and long-term rebuilding are factored in.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella asked U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend tariffs on Colombian exports, citing the earthquake emergency as justification. Meanwhile, major private-sector contributions began arriving: BBVA and the singer Shakira each pledged significant funds for recovery efforts, according to the Rio Times’ August 19 regional briefing.
The earthquake struck just weeks after Venezuela’s devastating twin quakes of June 24, which killed more than 6,100 people and caused an estimated $19.6 billion in damage. Seismologists noted that both events occurred along the same tectonic boundary where the Nazca and South American plates interact, raising concerns about continued seismic risk across the northern Andean region.
Sources: Colombian Geological Service; ReliefWeb; Wikipedia; Rio Times; Al Jazeera
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