Rescue crews dug through mountains of shattered concrete in western Colombia on Tuesday (August 11, 2026), racing to ‌find survivors after a powerful earthquake killed more than 200 people, according to ​estimates from local authorities.

Families waited beside the rubble for signs of life. The 7.4-magnitude earthquake, ⁠the most powerful to strike the South American country in decades, tore through Colombia’s coffee-growing heartland early on Monday, leaving apartment blocks, homes, schools and health centers cracked, leaning or flattened.

In the hardest-hit cities, rescuers worked through the ‌night with cranes, excavators and, at times, their bare hands, cutting through twisted steel and passing buckets of debris in desperate searches for those still trapped.

“We are focused on ‌the immediate task of saving lives, guaranteeing the arrival of rescue teams, bringing in medical supplies ‌and ⁠field hospitals,” Interior Minister Rodrigo Lara told Blu Radio.

The U.N. humanitarian office OCHA, ⁠citing official figures as of Monday (August 10) night, said 126 people had been confirmed dead and 1,495 injured. But local estimates on Tuesday put the toll around 224, pointing to a disaster still unfolding as crews reached damaged neighborhoods and communications slowly ​came back online.

Almost 5,000 homes were damaged, while ‌dozens of buildings collapsed and hundreds of residences were destroyed, OCHA said.

In Cali, residents gathered in the streets after parts of homes and apartment blocks gave way. Families cooked outside, salvaged what they could and braced for another day away from home. Several of the top floors ‌of one of the city’s hospitals — some dedicated to pediatric care — collapsed, leaving some patients trapped ​and 600 others tended to on a street strewn with rubble, Irne Torres Castro, the hospital’s director, told Caracol television.

In Pereira, one of the cities hit ⁠hardest, whole sections of residential neighborhoods were reduced to broken slabs of concrete and exposed rooms. Residents and volunteers formed human chains, while others stood silently nearby, listening for tapping sounds or cries from below.

“They’ve already ‌pulled several people out, some alive and some dead. I still can’t believe it — yesterday at this same time I said hello to them, and today they’re gone. It’s very painful,” said Fernanda Gaviria, 33, speaking from a grocery shop opposite a collapsed building.

Gaviria said she spent the night sleeping in a park after her own apartment building was badly damaged.

The earthquake also knocked out vital infrastructure. Civil aviation authorities closed six airports — Quibdo, Pereira, Manizales, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura — due to damage, while ‌dozens of roads were reported to be affected.

Electricity, water, healthcare and phone service remained disrupted in several areas, especially ​in Choco near the epicenter, complicating rescue efforts and aid delivery.

Authorities activated command centers as emergency workers, volunteers and humanitarian agencies rushed in shelter supplies, drinking water, hygiene kits, ⁠food and medical support.

International assistance was beginning to arrive. The United States said it had allocated $15.5 million ⁠for emergency shelter, food, protection and damage assessments, while the Inter-American Development Bank said it had made $50 million immediately available for reconstruction support if requested by the government.

With communications still patchy ‌in some of the worst-hit areas, officials said the full extent of the damage and the final death toll could take days to establish.

Published – August 11, 2026 11:16 pm IST

A man looks at a collapsed building after an earthquake struck Manizales, Colombia, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

A powerful earthquake struck western ‌Colombia on Monday (August 10, 2026) bringing down buildings across several cities and leaving others trapped in the rubble, local authorities said. The 7.4 magnitude earthquake rattled Cali, Quibdo, Pereira and numerous other cities and towns.

Search and rescue efforts were under way early on Tuesday (August 11) in dozens of cities and towns in western Colombia, even as the death toll rose to 111, leaving many trapped under the debris of damaged and destroyed buildings.

Colombia’s Geological Service said Monday’s (August 10) quake was the country’s strongest recorded “in the 21st century,” and that it was followed by several aftershocks. Response to the earthquake presents the first major challenge for Abelardo de la Espriella, a Trump ally who was sworn in as President over the weekend.

(Text and pictures: Agencies)

Published – August 11, 2026 12:47 pm IST

Search and rescue efforts were underway early on Tuesday (August 11, 2026) in dozens of cities and towns in western Colombia after a powerful earthquake struck the region, killing at least 111 people and leaving many trapped under the debris of damaged and destroyed buildings.

Monday’s 7.4 magnitude earthquake rattled Cali, Quibdo, Pereira and numerous other cities and towns. Around 1,600 buildings were reported damaged or collapsed. Soldiers, rescue personnel and families picked through the rubble, removing and passing large pieces of concrete by hand down lines of volunteers.

President Abelardo de la Espriella said on Monday afternoon at least 111 people had died.

Families posted information about missing loved ones on citizen-run websites. By Monday night, more than 2,700 people had been reported missing.

Dana Carolina Zamora posted an image of her missing 60-year-old uncle, Miguel Ángel Zamora, cradling his dog. The farmer was living in a rural area of El Cairo, not far from the epicenter of the quake in San Jose Del Palmar.

Local authorities said 80% of El Cairo, a town of about 7,000 people, was damaged. Ms. Zamora said she worried because her uncle lived in a traditional but fragile house made of sticks and mud.

“We are afraid. We hope that is not the case, that he is all right and that it is only a communication failure. But we haven’t heard anything from him,” Ms. Zamora said.

Damage in Choco unknown

Choco, the region surrounding the quake’s epicenter, is one of the poorest and most neglected regions of Colombia, often beset by warring armed groups. Much of Choco is accessible only by boat, through the jungle or by airplane. Little was known about the extent of the damage there.

De la Espriella traveled to Choco’s capital, Quibdo, on Monday night to assess the damage and announced he had mobilized “the entire military and police apparatus” to respond, deploying engineers, rescue workers and search dogs. He announced rental subsidies for those whose homes were damaged while they undergo repairs.

“Choco will never again be the ‘land of the forgotten,’” he said.

The earthquake presents the first major test for de la Espriella, who was sworn in as Colombia’s leader on Friday. De la Espriella is a divisive figure because of his pledge of an all-out crackdown on criminal groups.

Governments offer help, aid

The U.S. State Department announced it would provide $15.5 million for emergency shelter, food and other aid. Governments across Latin America also lined up to help.

The earthquake left many in the Andean nation unnerved after two back-to-back quakes devastated neighboring Venezuela in late June, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing more than 6,300 people.

Many Colombians were only beginning to grapple with the disaster’s longer-term consequences.

Mónica Sánchez owns a small company that makes work uniforms. Her home city, Pereira, was one of the worst hit, and a wall inside the factory collapsed. Sánchez and her 12 workers were able to get outside just in time.

“It was shocking — the city fell down around us,” she said.

Published – August 11, 2026 10:41 am IST

A man carries his dog after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP