More than 130 people were killed and over 570 others injured after a powerful earthquake measuring 7.4 struck Colombia on Monday. According to reports, the city of Pereira alone reported at least 60 deaths.
Citing the Colombian Association of Capital Cities, CNN reported that five cities across the country had been placed under a red alert. Several buildings were toppled, hospitals and other infrastructure were damaged, and several people were trapped beneath the rubble following the country’s strongest earthquake this century.
“The national government has all of its capabilities deployed to protect lives, assist affected communities and deliver aid wherever it is needed,” said President Abelardo De La Espriella, who was sworn in just a few days ago.
De La Espriella also declared a national state of emergency.
According to reports, tremors were felt in several cities across Colombia, including the capital, Bogota, where alarms sounded and people evacuated several buildings and took to the streets as a precaution.
De La Espriella visited Quibdo, the capital of the coastal Choco province, where he promised rent subsidies for those who had lost their homes. He then travelled to Cali, western Colombia’s largest city.
Authorities in Cali, Armenia and Manizales announced curfews, with Cali’s mayor saying threats of looting had forced him to deploy police and military personnel to the streets, Reuters reported.
According to Colombia’s Geological Service, this was the strongest earthquake recorded in the country in the 21st century.
The US Geological Survey recorded the quake at around 7:34 a.m. local time, with the epicentre near San Jose del Palmar in Colombia’s Choco area, around 280 kilometres west of Bogota, at a depth of 107 kilometres.
