The death toll from the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Colombia on Monday morning continues to rise: regional authorities in four departments report at least 240 dead. This figure significantly exceeds the latest official data from the national government, which reported 111 deaths as of noon the same day.
The earthquake, recorded at 7:34 a.m. with its epicenter in San José del Palmar in the department of Chocó, was classified by the Colombian Geological Service as the most powerful earthquake in the country in the 21st century and the strongest in the last 47 years. It surpassed even the devastating earthquake in the Coffee Region in 1999.
Consequences in the most affected regions
The department of Valle del Cauca is the most affected: a total of 130 people died there — 95 in Cali and 35 in other municipalities of the region. The mayor of Cali, Alejandro Eder, reported grim news on Tuesday: “Unfortunately, we have to report 95 deaths; this is the count as of this morning. We have 949 injured and 86 rescued,” he said, adding that “239 people remain under the rubble, and 56 buildings have collapsed.”
The governor of the department of Valle del Cauca, Dilian Francisca Toro, reported that “35 people died, nearly 700 were injured, three hospitals collapsed, 18 were damaged, and 39 educational centers were affected.” According to her, about 5,000 homes were also damaged in the municipalities of the department outside of Cali.
In Risaralda, the regional government secretary Israel Londoño confirmed “about 90 deaths.” In the department’s capital, Pereira, the mayor declared a nighttime curfew and deployed a thousand military personnel to prevent looting.
The department of Chocó, where the earthquake’s epicenter was located, reported 14 dead, 138 injured, and five missing. This was stated by the governor Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Nuri, who warned that “although the epicenter was in San José del Palmar, in the capital, Quibdó, there are injured and seriously damaged buildings.” In Caldas, as of Monday evening, there were reports of six dead, 76 injured, and more than 1,300 damaged homes.
Information delay and international aid
The Institute of Legal Medicine reported receiving 160 bodies from the four affected departments, which is a partial but verified indicator of the scale of the tragedy. The central government’s delay in updating the data has drawn criticism. The National Unit for Disaster Risk Management noted that “by order” of President Abelardo de la Espriella, “all official information about the situation will be published exclusively by the Presidency of the Republic.” This created an information vacuum filled by regional authorities and the Colombian Association of Capitals.
De la Espriella, who had been in office for only three days when the earthquake occurred, declared a national disaster and established a Unified Command Post. The international response was swift: the UN, Ecuador — with a team of 47 specialized rescuers — the United States, Spain, and the European Union, which activated the Copernicus system, offered support for rescue operations. The U.S. Geological Survey issued an orange warning, estimating between 100 and 1,000 deaths as the most likely scenario, with a 20% chance that the death toll would exceed 1,000. This warning is becoming increasingly significant as rescue teams reach areas that remain cut off, and regional authorities continue to update their estimates.
