Colombian authorities search for missing people after powerful earthquake kills more than 100

The hardest-hit areas were concentrated in the department of Chocó and the city of Pereira, where local authorities reported collapsed structures and landslides that blocked access routes. In the city of Cali, emergency crews worked through the night to clear debris and reach residents trapped in damaged homes. The city of Quibdó, the capital of Chocó, also suffered significant damage to its older central district, according to local officials.

Government response

President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office earlier this year, addressed the nation on Sunday evening and declared a state of emergency in the affected departments. He ordered the military to deploy engineering battalions to assist with rescue operations and the restoration of basic services. "We will not rest until every missing person is accounted for and every family receives the support it needs," he said in a televised statement.

Humanitarian organizations began moving tents, food kits and medical supplies toward the affected zones on Monday morning, though landslides on rural roads slowed convoys. Hospitals in Pereira and Cali reported receiving dozens of injured patients and appealed for blood donations. Several aftershocks, including one of magnitude 5.2, rattled the region overnight, prompting many residents to spend the night outdoors.

Humanitarian and international reaction

The risk management agency said the death toll was expected to rise as search teams reached remote villages in Chocó that had been cut off by landslides. In Quibdó, residents used machetes and basic tools to pull neighbors from the rubble before professional rescue units arrived. Officials warned of contaminated water sources and called for the immediate deployment of mobile water-treatment plants.

The economic impact was already visible in Pereira's central market, where vendors counted their losses among collapsed stalls and spilled goods. Insurers said preliminary claims would likely run into hundreds of millions of dollars once assessments were complete. The transport ministry closed several bridges for safety inspections and warned of long detours for cargo traffic moving between Cali and the Pacific coast.

Seismic context and long-term risk

International response began to take shape within hours of the disaster. Neighboring Venezuela offered to send rescue specialists despite recent diplomatic strains, while regional governments from across the Andes pledged humanitarian aid. The United Nations said it was monitoring the situation and stood ready to coordinate international assistance if requested by Bogotá.

Seismologists stressed that the Andes region, including western Colombia, sits along one of the most active subduction zones in the world and that major earthquakes are a recurring hazard. They urged authorities to accelerate building-code enforcement and retrofitting in older urban centers such as Quibdó and Pereira, where many structures predate modern seismic standards.

By Monday evening, search teams reported finding both survivors and additional bodies as they worked through the debris. Authorities said the operation would continue around the clock for at least the next 72 hours, with sniffer dogs, thermal imaging equipment and heavy machinery being deployed to the worst-affected neighborhoods.