BOGOTA, Colombia: At least 77 people were killed after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia early on Monday, collapsing buildings across several cities and trapping people under rubble, authorities said.
The 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck at 7:34 a.m. local time (1234 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). It was centred at a depth of 107 km (66 miles) near San Jose del Palmar in Choco province on Colombia’s Pacific coast.
OMG, this is terrifying. Footage showing the shaking from the M7.2 earthquake that hit Colombia earlier.
👀 Watch until the end.
📍 Pereirapic.twitter.com/vS2slBg53X
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) August 10, 2026
The quake was felt across much of Colombia and in parts of neighbouring Venezuela, while buildings were evacuated in the capital Bogota.
The USGS warned that “significant casualties and damage are likely” and that the disaster was potentially widespread.
The death toll rose rapidly as emergency teams assessed damage and searched collapsed structures.
Colombia’s Risaralda province bears brunt of quake
The highest reported death toll was in Risaralda province, in Colombia’s coffee-growing region, where Governor Juan Diego Patino reported 42 fatalities in comments to Caracol Television.
In the provincial capital Pereira, social media footage showed a building with a cracked facade collapsing and sending a cloud of dust and debris into the street.
🚨🇨🇴Breaking: 77 people has been killed in the powerfull earthquake in
Colombia and hundreds are missing🚨A powerful magnitude 7.4 #earthquake struck western #Colombia on Monday, sending intense tremors across a large part of the country and being felt as far as neighboring… pic.twitter.com/xPZagh2fRC
— pradhyumn sharma (@pradhyu78651514) August 10, 2026
In nearby Manizales, Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said three people had been killed.
Images showed one of the towers atop a Gothic-style cathedral in Manizales had collapsed. Other footage showed a damaged building with deep cracks in its facade.
One person was killed in Buenaventura, Colombia’s main Pacific port, when a building collapsed, Mayor Ligia del Carmen Cordoba said. Several people were trapped in the rubble.
Choco Governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba-Curi said there were injuries and significant damage in Quibdo, the provincial capital. She also warned residents to prepare for possible aftershocks.
People trapped in Cali city of Colombia
Cali, one of Colombia’s largest cities, also reported major damage.
Mayor Alejandro Eder said more than two dozen structures had collapsed and people remained trapped.
“At this point, two people have already been rescued alive, one elderly woman and one young girl. There are more people trapped,” Eder told Blu Radio.
🇨🇴 A building literally crumbles as huge chunks of concrete fall near people running out of it in Colombia during the 7.4-magnitude earthquake. pic.twitter.com/ln1t5dHkcU
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 10, 2026
“We have at least 12 critical points and 25 collapsed structures that we are responding to,” he said.
Eder said Cali had asked authorities in Bogota and Medellin to send disaster teams to assist rescue operations.
Buildings evacuated in Bogota
The earthquake was felt hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre.
In Bogota, residents ran out of homes and offices as buildings shook and emergency alerts sounded. AFP reporters witnessed people fleeing into the streets, some still wearing pyjamas.
Colombia earthquake DEATH TOLL CLIMBING BY THE MINUTE — now 70 KILLED — El País https://t.co/yo5hlm30qh pic.twitter.com/RgB2xUyH8J
— RT (@RT_com) August 10, 2026
Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galan said initial reports indicated cracks in buildings but no serious damage to the city’s infrastructure.
Journalists broadcasting live from Caracol Radio described furniture shaking inside their studio.
Reuters correspondent witnesses in Venezuela’s border state of Tachira and the central-western city of Barquisimeto also reported feeling the earthquake.
The Colombian Geological Service said the earthquake affected neighbouring cities including El Cairo and El Aguila. The AP reported that aftershocks measuring 2.8 and 4.8 had also been recorded.
The USGS said areas around the epicentre faced risks of landslides and flooding.
Airports suspend operations
Colombia’s civil aviation authority suspended flights at six regional airports while inspectors checked for structural damage.
The affected airports were in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura.
The earthquake was felt in nine departments and all 32 departmental capitals.
The US tsunami warning system said there was no tsunami threat following the earthquake.
The quake came after a 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific about seven hours earlier, affecting three cities in neighbouring Ecuador, according to the Associated Press. A 4.6-magnitude earthquake had also struck Peru nearly a day earlier.
The disaster also revived memories of deadly earthquakes in neighbouring Venezuela.
Venezuela was struck by devastating twin earthquakes in June that killed more than 6,000 people, mostly on the coast near the capital Caracas.
