1 of 2 | People walk through the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Cali, Colombia, on Monday. At least 20 buildings sustained severe damage as a result of the 7.4-magnitude quake that shook most of the country, with its epicenter in the Pacific region. Photo by Ernesto Guzman/EPA
Aug. 10 (UPI) — The Colombian government declared a “national disaster” after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the western part of the country Monday, the strongest recorded in Colombia in the past decade.
At least 132 people were killed, according to the Colombian Association of Capital Cities, which said 87 deaths were reported in capital cities, where an additional 483 people were injured.
At least 86 buildings have collapsed and seven airports have suspended operations, the ***ociation said, adding that hospitals, transportation systems, aqueducts, energy and telecommunications were all experiencing disruptions.
Authorities reported damage to 1,575 homes, 37 of which were destroyed.
Pereira, Cali, Manizales, Quibdó and Armenia are among the hardest-hit cities and were under red alerts, with people reported dead, injured and trapped. Authorities also reported structural collapses and damage to hospitals, airports, public utilities and transportation systems.
Search-and-rescue operations and damage ***essments continue in the hardest-hit areas.
The earthquake struck at 7:34 a.m. local time with an epicenter near San José del Palmar in the western department of Chocó, according to a preliminary report from the Colombian Geological Service, or SGC.
The quake caused widespread building collapses in major cities including Pereira, Cali and Manizales, where emergency crews were removing rubble and searching for trapped survivors, Colombian media reported.
Most of the reported deaths occurred in Pereira. Mayor Mauricio Salazar Peláez said at least 18 people died after parts of residential and commercial buildings collapsed in the city center.
Risaralda Gov. Juan Diego Patiño Ochoa said Pereira sustained severe damage to homes and businesses, including major structural failures, extensive cracking and collapsed sections of building facades. Matecaña International Airport also sustained damage.
In Chocó, where the earthquake’s epicenter was situated, emergency services reported one death. Chocó Gov. Nubia Carolina Córdoba said at least 10 people were injured in Quibdó, the departmental capital, by falling masonry and pieces of building facades, Caracol Noticias reported.
Manizales Mayor Jorge Rojas separately told local media that 12 people had died and about 10 buildings had completely collapsed. Debris also fell from one of the towers of the city’s landmark cathedral, Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported.
The emergency extended to Cali, where Mayor Alejandro Eder said at least 20 buildings had collapsed with people trapped beneath the rubble. He urgently requested specialized search-and-rescue teams from Bogotá and Medellín.
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 5.0 aftershock less than an hour after the main earthquake. The aftershock was centered about 10 miles west of the original epicenter near San José del Palmar.
Despite the strength of the earthquake, international monitoring agencies and the SGC reported a depth of between 51 and 66 miles, which reduced the intensity of the shaking at the surface.
Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, known as UNGRD, and President Abelardo de la Espriella were ***essing the extent of the disaster as authorities warned that the death toll could rise sharply in the coming hours.
The earthquake was also strongly felt in Ecuador and Panama, causing alarm across the region.
In Ecuador, the earthquake interrupted the national holiday commemorating the First Cry of Independence. Residents in the provinces of Carchi, Pichincha, Guayas and Esmeraldas reported “long and prolonged” shaking, prompting precautionary evacuations at major hospitals in Quito.
Panama’s National Civil Protection System said the earthquake was felt lightly in Panama City and Darién province, with no structural damage reported.
Emergency crews continued surveying rural areas near the epicenter as geological authorities warned of possible aftershocks.
The U.S. Geological survey reported a 5.0-magnitude aftershock less than an hour after the initial quake.
