At least 132 people have been killed and 570 injured after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia, bringing down buildings in several major cities and prompting the government to declare a national state of emergency.
The earthquake struck at 7:34 a.m. local time on Monday, with its epicenter in the San Jose del Palmar area of Choco, near the borders with Valle del Cauca and Risaralda. The U.S. Geological Survey put the depth at about 107 kilometers, while the Colombian Geological Service described it as the strongest earthquake recorded in the country in the 21st century. At least 21 aftershocks were reported within hours.
The Colombian Association of Capital Cities reported at least 132 deaths and 570 injuries across the affected regions. Early figures from President Abelardo de la Espriella had put the toll at 111 dead and 87 injured, with 61 buildings collapsed.
The worst damage was reported in the western departments of Cauca, Risaralda, Valle del Cauca, Choco, Caldas and Quindio. At least 60 people were reported killed in Cauca and 40 in Risaralda in the various preliminary counts, while Valle del Cauca recorded at least 27 deaths. Choco, which contains the epicenter, reported at least 12 deaths and 84 injuries, although communications outages made it difficult to establish the full extent of the damage.
