BOGOTA: At least 111 people were killed after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday (Aug 10), toppling buildings across several cities, damaging hospitals and infrastructure and trapping people beneath the rubble in what authorities called the country's strongest earthquake of the century.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 neighboring Venezuela in June."The national government has all of its capabilities deployed to protect lives, assist affected communities and deliver aid wherever it is needed," he said in a national address around 1pm local time, upon declaring a national state of emergency."The first priority is rescuing the people trapped under the rubble."De La Espriella said preliminary reports indicated 111 dead and 87 injured, along with dozens of collapsed buildings and damaged homes.
The US Geological Survey said the 7.4 magnitude quake struck at a depth of 107km. Colombia's geological service said it was the strongest earthquake recorded in the country in the 21st century.Reports from Choco, near the epicenter, were slowed by communications outages, with some areas still lacking cellphone service hours after the earthquake. Governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba said 12 people had been killed and 84 injured in the largely rural area.The heaviest casualties appeared concentrated in Risaralda, part of Colombia's coffee-growing region. Pereira, the department's capital, suffered extensive damage, with rescue workers continuing to search collapsed buildings for survivors.
