At least two people were killed and several buildings collapsed after a powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, leaving people trapped beneath rubble in some areas.
The two confirmed deaths occurred in Manizales, Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said. In Cali, one of Colombia’s largest cities, Mayor Alejandro Eder said preliminary reports indicated that at least 20 structures had collapsed, with people trapped inside.
Cali authorities requested assistance from disaster-response teams in Bogota and Medellin as rescue operations got underway.
The earthquake’s epicentre was near San Jose del Palmar in Choco, a relatively sparsely populated province on Colombia’s Pacific coast. Choco Governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba reported injuries and significant damage in the provincial capital, Quibdo, and warned residents to remain alert for aftershocks.
In neighbouring Risaralda province, Governor Juan Diego Patino said some buildings in Pereira, a major city in Colombia’s coffee-growing region, had sustained serious damage.
Colombia’s civil aviation authority suspended flights at airports in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura while structural inspections were carried out.
The country’s geological service revised the earthquake’s magnitude to 7.4, saying it struck at a depth of approximately 96 kilometres (60 miles). The US tsunami warning system said there was no tsunami threat.
Colombia’s disaster agency said the earthquake was felt across all 32 departmental capitals, prompting evacuations and reports of damage from nine departments.
Tremors were also felt across the border in parts of Venezuela, including Tachira state and the city of Barquisimeto.