At least 111 people died Monday when a 7.4 magnitude earthquake tore through western Colombia, collapsing buildings across the region's poorest communities and leaving hundreds trapped under rubble as rescue teams struggled to reach remote areas accessible only by boat or plane.
President Abelardo de la Espriella confirmed the death toll and said at least 87 people were injured. Around 1,600 buildings suffered damage, including at least 61 that completely collapsed. He declared an emergency to speed funding for quake recovery and promised to visit the disaster zone. "We aren't going to leave people alone. They are in our hearts and we are going to tend to people with our full determination," he said.
The epicenter struck San Jose Del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Choco region about 250 miles west of Bogota, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake ravaged cities across western Colombia, including Pereira, Quibdo, Cali and Manizales. Tremors reached neighboring Ecuador and Panama, though minimal damage was reported there.
Hardest Hit: Colombia's Poorest Region
Colombia's Pacific region around the quake's epicenter is one of the poorest areas in the country. Nestled in dense jungle, much of Choco is only reachable by boat or plane, which may pose a problem for authorities in assessing the wider toll. The region lies along the Ring of Fire, the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.
Local authorities said the death toll included at least 40 people killed in the Risaralda region, where the hard-hit city of Pereira is located, as well as 27 people in the Valle del Cauca region, where Cali is located, including three children. Authorities also confirmed nine people killed in Choco, two in the Caldas region and a 73-year-old in the Antioquia region. It wasn't immediately clear where the other 32 people died.
Colombia's Geological Service said Monday's quake was the strongest recorded in Colombia "in the 21st century," and that it was followed by 21 less powerful aftershocks. Small earthquakes are common in central and western Colombia, but those above 6.0 magnitude are rare. In 1999, a 6.2 magnitude quake near the city of Armenia killed more than 1,100 people, 27 years ago.
Rescue Efforts Amid Collapsed Buildings
In Cali, search teams and civilians picked through the remains of destroyed buildings, passing large pieces of concrete and other rubble down a long line of volunteers. Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver in Cali, said he saw plumes of dust shoot up across the city as buildings collapsed. "My entire house shook. I've never lived through such a powerful earthquake," he said. "We're thanking God we're alive."
In Pereira, photos and videos published by local media showed pieces of the airport ceiling falling down on travelers taking shelter and screaming. Pereira's mayor, Mauricio Salazar, told a local radio station that more people were trapped under "a massive quantity of collapsed buildings." In nearby Manizales, one of the towers of the neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed and fell on the nave. Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas asked residents to stay outside in case of aftershocks.
In Cali, a city of 2 million people, Mayor Alejandro Eder said that residents were trapped in at least 19 buildings that had collapsed. Authorities said flights were suspended in the airports of Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago, Buenaventura and Pereira as they assessed damage.
International Response and Political Test
Colombia's newly inaugurated president said Monday that he had personally taken charge of the government's response to the emergency. "You are not alone. The state is present and taking action," he said. Response to the earthquake presents the first major challenge to de la Espriella, a Trump ally who was sworn in as president over the weekend.
Messages of support rolled in from leaders across the Americas, including Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador and the United States. "The Trump administration is closely monitoring the large earthquake that struck Colombia and stands ready to support the people of Colombia," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a post on X. A number of countries offered aid, and the U.N. deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq, said "we stand ready to help as needed."
Financial markets also reacted to the disaster. Reuters reported that Latin American equities, measured by the MSCI index, slid about 0.26% and a currencies gauge remained flat.
Why This Matters:
The earthquake exposes deep vulnerabilities in Colombia's poorest regions, where infrastructure standards and emergency preparedness lag far behind wealthier areas. Choco's isolation—reachable only by boat or plane—highlights how geographic and economic marginalization compounds disaster risk, potentially leaving communities without timely aid when they need it most. The concentration of casualties in working-class cities like Pereira and Cali, and the collapse of so many buildings, raises urgent questions about building codes and enforcement in areas where residents can't afford earthquake-resistant construction. As climate change and seismic activity continue to threaten vulnerable populations, this disaster underscores the need for robust public investment in infrastructure, early warning systems, and emergency response capacity that reaches the most isolated communities—not just urban centers. The international community's offers of aid reflect recognition that disaster resilience requires collective support, especially for nations where poverty limits local response capacity.