🔴 LIVE UPDATE (11:15 AM COT): Casualties & Structural Damage Confirmed
UPDATED 11:15 AM COT: Disaster risk management authorities (UNGRD) have confirmed at least 22 fatalities and numerous injuries across the Coffee Axis region and western departments. The highest casualty toll was reported in Pereira (18 fatalities) and Manizales (2 fatalities). Severe structural damage has been documented, including the partial collapse of a tower at the historic Cathedral of Manizales and structural cracks at Matecaña International Airport in Pereira. Flight operations remain temporarily suspended at regional airports in Manizales, Quibdó, Pereira, and Armenia as Unified Command Posts (PMU) oversee search and rescue operations.
A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on the morning of Monday, August 10, 2026, at approximately 7:34 a.m. local time. According to official reports from the Servicio Geológico Colombiano (SGC) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter was located near San José del Palmar in the department of Chocó, at an estimated depth of 107 to 110 km.
The intense shaking was felt broadly across Colombia—including in major population centers such as Cali, Medellín, Manizales, Pereira, and the capital, Bogotá—as well as parts of neighboring Ecuador and Venezuela. Structural damage and injuries have been reported in western cities, including a partial building collapse in Manizales and damage to Matecaña International Airport in Pereira.
Colombia's National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) confirmed that there is no tsunami threat due to the focal depth of the event. Emergency response teams and disaster authorities are actively conducting rapid damage assessments across affected departments.