Colombia had initially put the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.6.

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake has struck western Colombia and neighbouring countries, killing at least 20 people and prompting widespread evacuations.

The earthquake struck on Monday near the municipality of San Jose del Palmar in Colombia’s Choco region, about 400km west of the capital, Bogota, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Colombia’s geological service.

Colombia had initially put the magnitude of the earthquake at 6.6.

The USGS said the quake occurred at a depth of about 107km. The US tsunami warning system said there was no tsunami warning.