World

Colombia earthquake: magnitude 7.4 quake kills at least 111

Herz — World Desk · 11 August 2026 at 09:48 · 30s summary · 3 min read

The essentials

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia at 7:34 a.m. local time on Monday, killing at least 111 people, according to NPR. Local media cited by Deutsche Welle put the toll above 130, with hundreds injured. About 2,000 people are missing, and thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed. The epicenter was near San José del Palmar in Chocó department. Residents, volunteers and hundreds of soldiers are searching for survivors as power and communications remain partially disrupted. Nearly 50 aftershocks were recorded, and six airports closed to commercial traffic because of infrastructure damage.

The magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Monday at 7:34 a.m. local time.
The death toll ranges from at least 111 to more than 130 across sources.
About 2,000 people are reported missing.
Thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed.
Nearly 50 aftershocks were recorded within hours.

What we know

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia on Monday at 7:34 a.m. local time, or 2:34 p.m. Central European Summer Time. Its epicenter was near San José del Palmar in Chocó department on Colombia’s Pacific coast.

Local media cited by Deutsche Welle reported more than 130 deaths and hundreds of injuries. NPR put the death toll at at least 111.

About 2,000 people are missing. Colombian authorities described the earthquake as the country’s strongest in 10 years.

President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office only days earlier, declared a state of disaster and said thousands of homes had been damaged or destroyed.

The areas affected

Risaralda department and its capital, Pereira, were particularly hard hit. Authorities reported numerous deaths there and in Manizales.

One of the cathedral towers in Manizales was damaged. Valle del Cauca department, whose regional capital is Cali, also recorded numerous deaths.

The shaking was felt across much of Colombia, including Bogotá, as well as in Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.

The search for survivors

Residents and volunteers are searching the rubble for survivors, sometimes with their bare hands. The government deployed hundreds of soldiers to support search-and-rescue operations.

Electricity, telephone service and other communications remain partially disrupted in the disaster zones.

Nearly 50 aftershocks were recorded in the hours after the main quake. Six airports closed to commercial traffic because of infrastructure damage, according to the Colombian presidency.

International assistance

The United States released $15.5 million in emergency assistance, equivalent to €13.4 million, according to the U.S. State Department.

Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union wanted to help and had already activated Copernicus to support emergency operations.

Copernicus is an EU program that continuously gathers updated data on the state of the Earth and is used to monitor disasters. Shakira also posted a message of support for her home country.

No link to the Venezuela earthquake

The Colombian Geological Service, the public agency responsible for studying natural resources and related risks, ruled out a connection with the earthquake that struck Venezuela in June.

The agency attributed the Colombian earthquake to movements of the Nazca Plate. The Venezuelan earthquake involved the Caribbean Plate.

Official figures cited by Deutsche Welle put the death toll from the June earthquake in Venezuela at more than 6,100. That figure comes from a single source in the available reporting.

How strong was the earthquake in Colombia?