Colombia quake kills at least 132 as rescuers search rubble

Rescuers and residents dug through collapsed buildings across western Colombia on Monday after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake killed at least 132 people, left thousands missing and damaged or destroyed about 1,600 buildings, authorities said.

The quake rattled Cali, Pereira, Quibdo, Manizales and dozens of other cities and towns, sending people into the streets and reducing homes, stores and public buildings to rubble. In Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, search teams and civilians formed long lines to pass chunks of concrete by hand as they looked for survivors.

“Our building has basically been left in ruins, and the building next to ours? Completely collapsed,” said Álvaro López, who cradled his dog as he watched the search.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter was in San Jose del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Choco region about 250 miles west of Bogota. The quake was also felt in neighboring Ecuador and Panama. Colombia’s Geological Service said it was the strongest quake recorded in the country “in the 21st century” and was followed by several aftershocks.

President Abelardo de la Espriella declared an emergency to speed funding for the response. He said at least 87 people were injured and at least 61 buildings had completely collapsed, according to NPR. Al Jazeera reported that authorities put the death toll at at least 132.

“We aren’t going to leave people alone. They are in our hearts and we are going to tend to people with our full determination,” de la Espriella said.

The president, who was sworn in on Friday, said he had deployed “the entire military and police apparatus,” sending engineers, rescue teams and search dogs into the hardest-hit areas. Soldiers, emergency crews and residents worked side by side as the search for survivors intensified.

Families posted details of missing relatives on citizen-run websites. By Monday afternoon, one database listed more than 2,000 people, mostly in Cali and Pereira, NPR reported. By Monday night, more than 2,700 people had been reported missing, according to Al Jazeera.

In Cali, taxi driver Jorge Moncayo, 64, said he saw plumes of dust rise across the city as buildings fell. The local government said people remained trapped in several of the city’s 380 damaged buildings.

“My entire house shook. I’ve never lived through such a powerful earthquake,” Moncayo said. “We’re thanking God we’re alive.”

Damage was reported across western Colombia. Local authorities cited by NPR said at least 40 people were killed in Risaralda, where Pereira is located, and 27 in Valle del Cauca, where Cali is located, including three children. Authorities also confirmed nine deaths in Choco, two in Caldas and the death of a 73-year-old in Antioquia. It was not immediately clear where the other deaths occurred.

In El Cairo, near the epicenter, local officials told Al Jazeera that 80 percent of the town of about 7,000 people had been damaged. Many traditional houses made of sticks and mud crumpled in the shaking. In Pereira, images on local media showed pieces of an airport ceiling falling as travelers screamed and took shelter. Mayor Mauricio Salazar told a local radio station that at least 15 collapsed buildings may have trapped people.

In Manizales, one tower of the neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed and fell onto the nave. Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas urged residents to stay outside because of aftershocks. Authorities suspended flights at airports in Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago, Buenaventura and Pereira while damage was assessed.

The Choco region, one of Colombia’s poorest and most isolated areas, posed a challenge for responders. Much of it can be reached only by boat or plane, phone signals were out in many parts of Quibdo, and San Jose del Palmar has no airport.

The United States pledged $15.5 million for emergency shelter, food and other quake response aid. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Chilean President José Antonio Kast also offered assistance. Bukele said El Salvador was ready to provide “immediate support with our rescue teams, medical personnel, paramedics, supplies, or any other assistance that our Colombian brothers and sisters deem necessary.”