At least 100 people were killed after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia early on Monday, toppling buildings across several cities and leaving people trapped under rubble.
The quake struck just days after Abelardo De la Espriella was sworn in as president, thrusting the new administration into its first major crisis, with memories still fresh of devastating twin earthquakes in neighbouring Venezuela in June.
The 7.4-magnitude quake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, struck at a depth of 107 kilometres near San Josédel Palmar, in Chocó, a sparsely populated province on Colombia's Pacific coast. The tremor was felt in major cities across the country.
"Significant casualties and damage are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread," the agency warned.
The highest reported death toll was in the western province of Risaralda, in Colombia's coffee-growing region, where Governor Juan Diego Patiño told Caracol Television by phone that 42 people had been killed.
In the province's capital, Pereira, social media images showed a building with a cracked façade collapsing, sending up a dark cloud of dust and debris as people in the street ran to safety.
The earthquake also toppled one of the towers of a Gothic-style cathedral in Manizales and forced nurses in Cali to wheel patients outside in hospital beds, according to images shared on social media and television.
In Manizales, Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said three people were killed.
One person died in Buenaventura, Colombia's main Pacific port, when a building collapsed, trapping several people, Mayor Ligia del Carmen Córdoba said.
Earthquakes and landslides in Colombia
Smaller earthquakes are not uncommon in Colombia, which is crossed by three ranges of the Andes. However, landslides have historically been among the deadliest natural disasters in the country, with the Armero disaster in 1985 killing about 25,000 people.
Cities in the country's coffee region, including Armenia and Pereira, were hit by a devastating 6.2-magnitude earthquake in 1999, which killed more than 1,000 people.
Colombia's civil aviation authority said flights were suspended at airports in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura while inspectors checked for structural damage.
Reuters witnesses in the Venezuelan border state of Táchira and the central-western city of Barquisimeto said they had felt the earthquake.
Houthi attacks target Riyadh amid concerns over Saudi oil supplies, as Iran says it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions are m...
The death toll from an overnight Russian attack on the Kyiv region rose to four, including three children, Kyiv regional authorities said on Sunday...
Uzbekistan’s grape exports have grown rapidly. In January-August 2025, the country exported 86,200 tonnes of fresh grapes worth $78.3 million...
Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said a Togo-flagged oil tanker was struck while attempting to make an “illegal passage” through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said early on Friday.
Saudi civil defence sent an all-clear on Saturday after issuing alerts for a second time for potential danger in Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj east of the capital, amid an uptick in attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis on the Gulf country.
The European Union will disburse €3.3 billion ($3.8 billion) to Ukraine for missiles and drones, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The U.S. State Department approved a $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air-defence development upgrades, along with related equipment and services, the department said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported at least 10 people had died in Russian attacks over the last 24 hours.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 18 September 2026. These are the top five stories making headlines in the field of science.
The death toll from an overnight Russian attack on the Kyiv region rose to four, including three children, Kyiv regional authorities said on Sunday. A mother and her two 3-year-old children were killed when a Russian drone strike hit a private home, the emergency service said.
A small container of lunar soil travelled more than 380,000 kilometres from the far side of the Moon to Earth two years ago. It recently made one more journey - from Beijing to Vienna, where China officially handed it over to the United Nations.
Russian authorities have reported attacks on voting systems and communication lines as the country’s parliamentary election entered its second day on Saturday (19 September).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has launched a new eight-nation grouping aimed at boosting trade, energy and security cooperation across central and eastern Europe. Here's what you need to know.
The U.S. State Department approved a $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air-defence development upgrades, along with related equipment and services, the department said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported at least 10 people had died in Russian attacks over the last 24 hours.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment