Death toll from Colombia earthquake rises to 164
The death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck western Colombia rose to at least 164, as search and rescue operations entered their second day on Tuesday. Emergency teams continued their work throughout the night without pause, digging through collapsed buildings and rubble-strewn homes in search of survivors, amid official warnings that the casualty count could rise.
Cali Bears the Brunt of the Casualties
The city of Cali, Colombia’s third-largest with a population of approximately 2.2 million, has borne the brunt of the disaster, recording 85 deaths so far. The earthquake caused multiple high-rise buildings in Cali and Pereira to collapse into rubble.
In the city of Manizales, one of the towers of the historic cathedral cracked, while cameras captured scenes of several buildings collapsing, images that spread widely around the world.
Race Against Time to Rescue Those Trapped Under Rubble
Emergency teams, supported by the military, police, and volunteers, continued search and rescue operations under extremely difficult conditions. They alternated between using excavators and heavy machinery and digging with bare hands to avoid injuring survivors trapped beneath the debris.
Teams are racing against time to take advantage of the “golden hours,” during which the chances of rescuing those trapped are highest. The difficulty of accessing some disaster-stricken areas has further complicated search efforts, with official predictions suggesting the death toll will rise as yet-unscanned areas are reached.
Colombia’s Coffee Region Under the Rubble
The geographic and economic nature of the affected region has amplified the scale of the disaster. Located in the heart of Colombia’s “Coffee Region,” one of the world’s most prominent coffee-growing areas and one of the country’s most densely populated and economically significant zones, the impact has been severe.
The same area had previously experienced the devastating Armenia earthquake in 1999, facing a new disaster 27 years later that tests its response and rescue capabilities.
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The earthquake measured 7.4 on the Richter scale, making it one of the most powerful quakes to hit Colombia in decades. It occurred early Monday morning near San José del Palmar in the Chocó department, at a depth of 107 kilometers.
The tremors’ effects extended across wide areas of the country, from Bogotá to Ecuador. Authorities declared a national state of emergency, affirming the mobilization of “all state capacities” to address the disaster’s aftermath.
