The death toll from last week’s powerful earthquake in Colombia has risen to at least 314, while 262 people remain missing, President Abelardo De La Espriella said on Wednesday.
The magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on 10 August, causing widespread destruction from the Pacific coast through the country’s coffee-growing region and major cities including Cali and Pereira.
The latest figures mark a further increase from the weekend, when authorities reported around 290 deaths. Thousands of people have also been injured and tens of thousands of homes damaged or destroyed.
The disaster has severely damaged homes and critical infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, roads and water systems. Cali, Pereira and the Chocó region are among the areas hardest hit.
Attention has increasingly shifted from rescue operations towards humanitarian assistance and reconstruction as the chances of finding more survivors diminish.
The economic cost is also mounting. De La Espriella said on Tuesday that preliminary estimates put losses from the earthquake at around 30 trillion Colombian pesos, or $9.6 billion, including damage to buildings and infrastructure.
The earthquake represents the first major crisis for De La Espriella’s administration, with the government facing the challenge of providing shelter and assistance to affected communities while rebuilding infrastructure across a large part of western Colombia.
The situation is particularly difficult in Chocó, where existing poverty, limited transport links and armed conflict have complicated relief efforts. Around 69,000 people in the region have been displaced or otherwise affected, according to recent assessments.
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The collective-defence agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signals that regional powers no longer want to rely solely on external security guarantees. Whether it becomes a stabilising deterrent or another axis of rivalry remains unresolved.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, according to the latest data, as uncertainty over the waterway’s reopening kept most shipowners away. Six commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, down from nine the day before and below the 10-day daily average of 11.
Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils the terms of an interim deal, including lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
Ukraine has targeted at least 20 Wildberries warehouses across Russia since 18 July, disrupting a major logistics network. Kyiv says the strikes aim to disrupt alleged military-linked supplies, while the attacks have caused billions of dollars in losses and wider economic pressure.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 19th of August, covering the latest developments.
A Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has killed at least five people and injured more than two dozen others, Ukrainian officials said, with fires reported across the city and Poland activating defensive air operations.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
Britain has summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires and demanded that the Israeli government withdraw a tender for construction in the controversial E1 settlement area in the West Bank.
The grandmother of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab has rejected an Israeli military investigation into her killing, saying the family does not trust the Israeli judiciary and calling instead for an independent international probe.
Lebanon has handed over former Syrian Major General Adel Issa to authorities in Damascus, where he faces charges including premeditated murder and torture resulting in death, Syria’s Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
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