Deadly 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes Colombia, trapping people in collapsed buildings
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake has struck Colombia, causing significant destruction in cities like Cali and Pereira. Authorities report dozens of fatalities as rescue teams search through the rubble of collapsed buildings in the country's most severe seismic event of the 21st century.
Why it matters
This major natural disaster highlights the vulnerability of the Choco region and the ongoing humanitarian crisis following a series of seismic events in the region.
Search teams and civilians picked through the remains of destroyed buildings in the country's third-largest city, Cali, passing large pieces of concrete and other rubble down a long line of volunteers.
"Our building has basically been left in ruins, and the building next to ours? Completely collapsed," said Álvaro López, who cradled his dog as he watched the search. The desperate scene recalled the searches still ongoing in neighbouring Venezuela weeks after that country was devastated by two powerful earthquakes.
Besides Cali, the quake ravaged cities across western Colombia, including Pereira, Quibdo and Manizales, and was felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama.
The epicentre was in San José del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Choco region about 400 kilometres west of Bogota, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
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