Less than two months after twin earthquakes devastated parts of Venezuela, killing more than 6,100 people, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake occurred this morning in the Chocó region of western Colombia. Various news outlets have reported that shaking was felt across the country, as well as in Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama. Genevieve Glatsky and Julie Turkewitz (The New York Times) write that the quake shook several major cities, including Bogotá, Cali and Medellín. At least 69 people have died [with the numbers growing as we share this news], with the death toll rising as rescuers continued to search damaged buildings. Read excerpts below and read full article in the links below. [Visit the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the tectonic summary and seismic history of the area.]
A powerful earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday morning, rattling much of the country, killing at least 69 people and sending residents fleeing from swaying and crumbling buildings in multiple cities. As rescuers searched the rubble of damaged buildings and officials warned of possible aftershocks, the death toll appeared likely to rise.
The 7.4 magnitude earthquake occurred at 7:34 a.m. local time, according to the United States Geological Survey and Colombia’s geological service, with the epicenter about 3 miles east of San José del Palmar, a town of about 5,000 people in a rural part of the Chocó region, where officials reported significant damage. Videos showed collapsed and partially collapsed buildings in the major cities of Pereira, Manizales and Cali.
The quake killed at least 40 people in Risaralda department, at least 27 in the adjacent Valle del Cauca department, and two in Manizales, according to local officials. Pereira, the capital of Risaralda, was hit hard — the mayor, Mauricio Salazar, told a national radio station that 18 people there had been killed there.
Pereira, with about 500,000 people, lies just 35 miles from the epicenter. Bogotá is about 150 miles to the west, while Medellín and Cali — Colombia’s third largest city, with about 2 million residents — are both about 100 miles from the epicenter. At least 20 buildings collapsed in Cali, trapping people inside, according to its mayor, Alejandro Eder. [. . .]
For full article, see https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08/10/world/colombia-earthquake-bogota-cali
For more information, see https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cj9gzgjw98xt, https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/colombia-earthquake-magnitude-deaths-injuries-choco-b3030491.html, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/8/10/colombia-earthquake-live-magnitude-7-4-quake-strikes-near-bogota-47-dead, and https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20e360lx0vo
Also see https://www.directrelief.org/2026/08/colombia-earthquake-7-4-magnitude-direct-relief-response/
For a tectonic summary and seismic history of the area, see https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000tjl2/region-info
[Photo above from Reuters, via https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cj9gzgjw98xt.]