Eighteen people are reported dead in Pereira and two in Manizales; at least 20 buildings collapse in Cali, six airports suspend operations and the quake is felt in Ecuador, Venezuela and Panamaynet|Eighteen people were reported killed in the western city of Pereira, while two others died in Manizales in central Colombia. In Cali, the country’s third-largest city, the mayor said at least 20 buildings had collapsed and rescue teams were working to reach people trapped inside.Buildings collapse as survivors jump and flee: Footage from the Colombia earthquakeHeavy structural damage was also reported in Quibdó, which together with Pereira appeared to be among the areas hardest hit. In Bogotá, where buildings swayed and frightened residents rushed into the streets, authorities said no significant damage had been recorded.Local media broadcast images of buildings with shattered facades, while videos circulating online showed people fleeing as debris fell around them. In one video, a woman struggled to remain standing as the facade of a nearby building collapsed before jumping across the road to escape the falling rubble.GalleryFootage from ColombiaBuildings collapse as survivors jump and flee: Footage from the Colombia earthquakeThe earthquake struck at 7:34 a.m. local time. In the first minutes after the tremor, seismological institutes measured it at magnitude 7.4. Some later revised the figure down to 6.6, before most reports again settled on 7.4.The epicenter was near San José del Palmar, about 400 kilometers west of Bogotá, at a relatively deep 96 kilometers below the surface.The earthquake was also felt in neighboring Ecuador, including the capital Quito, as well as in Venezuela and Panama. No tsunami warning was issued.Initial footage of the destruction in Colombia, as published by local mediaReports from Bogotá described widespread panic as residents and tourists evacuated buildings. More substantial destruction was reported farther west and in central Colombia.Colombia’s aviation authority reported damage at airports in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura and said operations at all six had been suspended.In Manizales, the city’s neo-Gothic cathedral was also damaged, with one of its towers collapsing.Less than an hour after the main earthquake, a magnitude 4.6 aftershock was reported in Chocó, the department closest to the epicenter. The aftershock occurred at a shallower depth.Panic in the minutes after the Colombia earthquakeThe earthquake came less than two months after two devastating quakes struck Venezuela in June. Those earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, killed more than 5,000 people and destroyed hundreds of buildings.Colombia and its neighbors lie along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region of intense seismic and volcanic activity caused by the movement of tectonic plates. Minor earthquakes are common in central and western Colombia, but tremors above magnitude 6 are relatively rare.In 1999, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake near Armenia killed more than 1,100 people.Israeli Rabbi Yosef Garmon, who was in Bogotá during Monday’s earthquake, said he had arrived in the city only hours earlier with a volunteer delegation that had been assisting communities affected by the Venezuelan disaster.During the earthquake: Water spills from a penthouse pool in Bucaramanga“I arrived in Bogotá before dawn, went to sleep at 5 a.m., and then the earthquake woke me up,” Garmon said. “I’m on the eighth floor and everything here was shaking. It was long, seconds that felt like an eternity, and then I heard screaming. Everyone went down through the stairwell.”Garmon said frightened residents remained outside and that the ground continued to shake. He added that his delegation was assessing whether assistance was now also needed in Colombia.Colombia’s newly inaugurated president, Abelardo de la Espriella, said in a post on X that he would personally oversee rescue and recovery efforts and establish an emergency center in San José del Palmar, near the epicenter.De la Espriella, who took office only days ago, is a vocal supporter of Israel and announced after winning the election that Colombia would restore ties with Israel and open an embassy in Jerusalem.Residents evacuated in Bogotá, Colombia, after the earthquake (Photo: AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)(Photo: Raul ARBOLEDA / AFP)Against the backdrop of warming relations between the countries, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel was closely following developments and had offered assistance.“We are following with concern the reports of the earthquake that struck Colombia,” Sa’ar wrote on X. “I offered my Colombian counterpart any assistance Israel can provide. Israel is prepared to help Colombia as needed.”