Colombia earthquake death toll rises as rescuers race to find survivors

The death toll from Colombia’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake climbed to at least 164 as rescuers in Cali and other cities worked through rubble left by the predawn shock. The quake struck western Colombia at 7:34 a.m. local time on Monday, Aug. 10, with its epicenter near San José del Palmar in Chocó, about 280 kilometers west of Bogotá.

The US Geological Survey estimated that about 1.5 million people experienced shaking near intensity 7, strong enough to damage unreinforced masonry buildings. The earthquake was felt far beyond the epicenter, reaching Bogotá, Cali and Medellín, and was also felt in Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.

In Cali, search teams and civilians passed large pieces of concrete and debris down long lines of volunteers as they picked through destroyed buildings. A rescuer in the city described the urgency bluntly: “We heard them screaming.” Reuters reported that rescue operations continued there as the death toll reached 111 on Monday, before later reports on Tuesday put the toll at at least 164.

Officials said buildings collapsed in multiple cities and injuries mounted as the extent of the damage became clearer. One Reuters-linked report said a hospital in Cali suffered a partial collapse, and another account said at least 1,500 buildings were destroyed. That combination of mass shaking, collapsed structures and hospital damage underscored how exposed dense urban areas remain when major quakes hit older masonry construction.

Colombian authorities declared a state of emergency after the quake, while the U.S. Embassy in Colombia issued a natural disaster alert for the Chocó earthquake. Direct Relief said it was mobilizing medical aid in response as hospitals and emergency crews absorbed a surge of casualties across the region.

The quake was described by CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam as “very rare,” and Reuters characterized it as the strongest quake this century to hit western Colombia. As rescue workers dug through debris and the casualty count continued to rise, the scale of destruction pointed to a wider test for Colombia’s disaster preparedness, especially in cities where collapsed walls, damaged hospitals and volunteer-driven rescue lines became the first response.