‘Injuries and serious damage’ as powerful earthquake shakes Colombia and Ecuador

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, shaking the South American nation and neighbouring Ecuador and prompting people to evacuate homes and buildings.

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, shaking the South American nation and neighbouring Ecuador and prompting people to evacuate homes and buildings.

The epicentre was in San Jose Del Palmar, a municipality in the Choco region about 250 miles (400 kilometres) west of Colombia’s capital, Bogota, the US Geological Survey and Colombia’s counterpart reported.

The USGS said it struck at a depth of 66 miles (107 kilometres).

Choco governor Nubia Cordoba said on social media that in the regional capital “there are injuries and serious damage to buildings”, without providing further details.

Footage shared by local media outlets showed homes and small buildings collapsing in the cities of Pereira, Cali and Quibdo.

In Manizales, a city about 190 miles (300 kilometres) west of Bogota, one of the towers of a neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed and fell on the nave.

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said in a post on X that he will personally supervise recovery efforts and install an emergency centre in San Jose del Palmar.

The temblor follows two back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes in Venezuela in late June.

Those earthquakes destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed more than 5,000 people.

Published: 10/08/2026 by Radio NewsHub