Powerful 7.4 earthquake strikes Colombia, killing more than 100

By GENEVIEVE GLATSKY and JULIE TURKEWITZ

A powerful earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday morning, rattling much of the country, killing more than 100 people and sending residents fleeing from swaying and crumbling buildings in multiple major cities. As rescuers searched the rubble of damaged buildings and officials warned of possible aftershocks, the death toll appeared likely to rise.

The 7.4 magnitude earthquake occurred at 7:34 a.m. local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and Colombia’s geological service, with the epicenter about 3 miles east of San José del Palmar, a town of about 5,000 people in a rural part of the Chocó region, where officials reported significant damage. Videos showed collapsed and partially collapsed buildings in the major cities of Pereira, Manizales and Cali.

President Abelardo De La Espriella, who took office just days ago, said Monday afternoon that 111 people had been confirmed dead. More than 1,500 residential buildings had been damaged, he said, with some fully destroyed. Eighteen health centers and dozens of schools had been damaged.

The quake killed at least 40 people in the Risaralda region, at least 27 in the adjacent Valle del Cauca region, nine in the Chocó region, three in Manizales and one in Antioquia, according to local officials. Pereira, the capital of Risaralda, was hit hard — the mayor, Mauricio Salazar, told a national radio station that 18 people there had been killed.

Pereira, with about 500,000 people, lies just 35 miles from the quake’s epicenter. Bogotá is about 150 miles to the west, while Medellín and Cali — Colombia’s third largest city, with about 2 million residents — are both about 100 miles from the epicenter. At least 20 buildings collapsed in Cali, trapping people inside, according to its mayor, Alejandro Eder, who urged residents to evacuate their buildings if they saw damage.

Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Curi, the governor of Chocó, said on social media that there had been significant damage to buildings in the region’s capital, Quibdó, home to about 140,000 people. The country’s civilian aviation authority temporarily suspended operations at the airport there and in six other cities: Cali, Pereira, Manizales, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura.

Here’s what to know:

— New president: The quake was an immediate challenge for De La Espriella, who took office Friday and has moved quickly to improve relations with the United States. His predecessor, Gustavo Petro, clashed repeatedly with President Donald Trump, who had heartily endorsed De La Espriella. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Trump administration “stands ready to support the people of Colombia.”

— Powerful tremor: The earthquake was the strongest recorded in Colombia over the past decade, according to the Colombian Geological Survey. The agency said that two aftershocks had been recorded at magnitudes 2.8 and 4.8.

— Venezuela quakes: The quake comes just weeks after twin quakes with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 devastated Venezuela, killing more than 6,000 people, overwhelming morgues and leaving tens of thousands displaced, with many more missing and likely dead.