A powerful earthquake struck Colombia and neighbouring countries in Latin America on 10 August. According to initial reports from international news agencies, at least 18 people have died.
Geologists recorded an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale, with its epicentre at a depth of 100 kilometres in the west of the country.
The earthquake was also felt in Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela, which had already been hit by a devastating earthquake at the end of June. Buildings were evacuated in the Colombian capital, Bogotá.
At least 18 people were killed in the city of Pereira alone, Mayor Mauricio Salazar told Caracol radio, adding that “the situation is critical”.
The governor of the Colombian province of Chocó wrote on X that there was also serious damage in the provincial capital, Quibdó.
Alejandro Eder, mayor of Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, reported that at least 20 buildings had collapsed and people were trapped due to “significant damage”.
Earlier this summer, on 24 June, two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale in Venezuela claimed the lives of more than 6,000 people and caused significant damage.