Search and rescue operations are continuing across western Colombia after a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the region on Monday, August 10, 2026.
According to official reports, at least 164 people have died and more than 880 have been injured.
More than 3,200 people remain missing as emergency workers, soldiers and local volunteers search through the remains of dozens of collapsed buildings.
Thousands of people have also been forced to leave their homes following the earthquake.
The earthquake reduced several multistory buildings to rubble in cities including Pereira and Cali. One tower of a historic cathedral in Manizales was also severely damaged.
The earthquake struck at an intermediate depth, with its epicenter near San José del Palmar in the western department of Chocó. The tremor badly affected Pereira, Cali, Manizales and nearby areas in the country’s coffee-growing region.
Many residential buildings, hospitals, schools and infrastructure networks, including several regional airports, suffered severe damage.
Several upper floors of a hospital in the region, including areas used for pediatric care, collapsed. Some patients were trapped, while about 600 others had to receive treatment on a street covered with rubble, hospital director Irne Torres Castro told Caracol television.
The city also suffered widespread destruction, with entire residential areas reduced to piles of concrete and twisted metal.
Videos showed buildings shaking violently during the earthquake as people rushed into the streets for safety.
Other footage posted online showed the city’s airport shaking during the quake, with large pieces of the ceiling falling as people took shelter.
A video showing the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary shaking and partially collapsing has also gone viral on social media.
The cathedral, which dates to the 1920s, is Colombia’s tallest cathedral and one of the highest neo-Gothic churches in the Americas.
The earthquake came only days after Abelardo De La Espriella was sworn in as president, putting his new administration in the middle of its first major crisis. The disaster also came as memories remained fresh of two devastating earthquakes that struck neighboring Venezuela in June.
The national government declared a state of emergency and deployed the military, police and specialized rescue teams to support recovery efforts. Other countries and international organizations have also offered assistance.
