Rescuers search rubble in Cali as Colombia’s strongest quake in decades hits

In Cali, Colombia's third‑most populous city after Bogotá and Medellín, residents and rescue workers picked their way through shattered concrete and twisted steel on Monday 10 August 2026, searching for survivors as ambulances crowded the streets around collapsed buildings. The footage shows people clearing rubble by hand and passing debris along human chains, while injured survivors are led away from the wreckage.

A six-month-old baby and her mother were among those pulled from beneath a five-storey building, while patients were evacuated from a hospital after part of the structure collapsed.

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia, killing at least 132 people and injuring 570, according to an evening update from the Colombian Association of Capital Cities, with the toll expected to rise. The US Geological Survey placed the epicentre near San Jose del Palmar in Choco province, 400 kilometres west of Bogota, at a depth of 107 kilometres. Pereira alone reported 60 deaths, and 86 buildings collapsed nationwide.

Newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella declared a national disaster, with more than 1,600 buildings damaged.

With at least 188 people still missing, Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder appealed to Bogotá and Medellín for urgent assistance. The quake was Colombia's strongest in the 21st century.