A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 79 people and collapsing buildings across multiple regions in what marks the first major crisis for the country's newly inaugurated president. The epicenter hit 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 and Colombia's counterpart. The USGS said it struck at a depth of 66 miles.
The death toll reflects casualties across six regions. Local officials said at least 40 people were killed in the Risaralda region, where the hard-hit city of Pereira is located, and 27 people in the Valle del Cauca region, where Colombia's third-biggest city, Cali, is located. At least three of those killed in Valle del Cauca were children, the governor said. Authorities also confirmed nine people were killed in Choco, two more in the Caldas region and a 73-year-old in the Antioquia region. Many more people across the country were injured.
Infrastructure Collapse and Economic Disruption
The quake left cities across western Colombia — Pereira, Quibdo, Cali and Manizales — ravaged. Residents and search teams picked through the rubble of collapsed buildings amid concerns about aftershocks. Colombia's interior minister said more than 20 municipalities across the country had been hit. Authorities also reported that flights were suspended in the airports of Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago, Buenaventura and Pereira.
In Cali, a city of 2 million people, Mayor Alejandro Eder said that residents were trapped in at least 19 buildings that had collapsed. In Pereira, Mayor Mauricio Salazar told a local radio station that at least 18 people had died and that many more were trapped under "a massive quantity of collapsed buildings." Photos and videos published by local media showed pieces of the airport ceiling falling down on travelers taking shelter and screaming, and people running through rubble in a panic.
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."
Presidential Response and Regional Context
Colombia's newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella said Monday that he had personally taken charge of the government's response to the emergency in San José del Palmar following the earthquake. "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.
Colombia's Geological Service said Monday that it had been "the highest magnitude earthquake registered in Colombia in the last decade" and that it had been followed by two 2.8 and 4.8 magnitude aftershocks. The earthquakes left many in the Andean nation unnerved after two back-to-back quakes devastated neighboring Venezuela in late June, destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed more than 5,000 people. At the same time the quake brought down buildings in Colombia, desperate families in Venezuela continued to search the ruins for the bodies of their loved ones.
In nearby Manizales, a city in the coffee-producing mountains of Colombia, one of the towers of the neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed and fell on the nave. Jorge Eduardo Rojas, the mayor of Manizales, asked residents to stay outside in case of aftershocks. Authorities in the rural state of Choco, the epicenter of the quake, reported injured people and damaged buildings in the capital, but provided few details.
Small earthquakes, known as temblores, 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.
International Support
Messages of support rolled in from leaders across the Americas, including Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador and the United States. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X, "The Trump administration is closely monitoring the large earthquake that struck Colombia and stands ready to support the people of Colombia." A number of countries offered aid, and the U.N. deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq, said, "we stand ready to help as needed." The quake was also felt in neighboring Ecuador and Panama, though minimal damage was reported there.
Why This Matters:
The earthquake's timing couldn't be more challenging for Colombia's new administration. De la Espriella faces immediate pressure to demonstrate effective crisis management and coordinate relief efforts across more than 20 affected municipalities while managing the economic fallout from suspended airport operations and widespread infrastructure damage. The collapse of 19 buildings in Cali alone suggests significant reconstruction costs ahead, testing the government's fiscal capacity and emergency response systems. With Venezuela still reeling from devastating quakes that killed over 5,000 people earlier this year, the region faces mounting humanitarian and economic strain. How efficiently Colombia's government mobilizes resources and restores critical infrastructure will set the tone for de la Espriella's presidency and determine whether the country can avoid the prolonged recovery crisis that has paralyzed its neighbor. The suspension of six airports also threatens Colombia's coffee export economy at a critical time.