Bogotá (EFE).- Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella reported on Wednesday that the death toll from Monday’s earthquake rose to 265, with 3,494 injured and 496 missing. De la Espriella declared an “economic emergency” to address the crisis caused by the earthquake.
«We have 25,872 affected families and 53,816 affected individuals. Unfortunately, there are 265 deaths, 3,494 injuries, and the number of missing individuals has alarmingly risen to 496,» De la Espriella said in a statement to the media at the Palacio de San Carlos, the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Bogotá.
The president confirmed that the government’s efforts are primarily focused on locating the missing and noted that they are mobilizing all available resources and drawing on international aid that has begun to arrive in Colombia.
The earthquake has also destroyed 11,347 homes and damaged 53,526 others, as well as 140 buildings, 1,819 schools, and 631 community centers, according to the latest report from the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD).
Declaration of an ‘economic emergency’
