Rescue operations continued for a second day in western Colombia on Tuesday following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck the country's coffee-growing region early Monday. Emergency teams, including police, soldiers, and volunteers, used excavators and hand tools to search for survivors in cities such as Cali and Pereira. Authorities reported that at least 164 people have died, and officials indicated they expect the death toll to rise as recovery efforts proceed.
The earthquake, described as the most powerful to hit the country in decades, caused significant structural damage across several urban centers. In Cali, multi-story buildings collapsed or were left unstable, while in Pereira, residential blocks were reduced to rubble. A historic cathedral in Manizales sustained a cracked tower, and the airport in Pereira experienced ceiling collapses during the tremors.
In Cali, a city of 2.2 million people, at least 85 deaths were confirmed. Irne Torres Castro, the director of a local hospital, reported that several floors of the facility collapsed, trapping patients and requiring approximately 600 others to be treated on the street. In Pereira, the capital of Risaralda state, officials confirmed 66 deaths, while 13 fatalities were reported in the rural province of Choco near the epicenter.
President Abelardo De La Espriella, who recently took office, announced the deployment of 1,000 security personnel to Cali by Tuesday morning following reports of looting. Both Cali and Pereira established curfews on Monday night. The president noted that 188 people remained missing in Cali as of Monday evening. The event has drawn comparisons to a 1999 earthquake in the same region that killed more than 1,000 people.
For ordinary citizens in the affected areas, the day-to-day reality has shifted to survival and recovery under strict government mandates. Residents of Cali and Pereira are currently subject to overnight curfews, and the presence of 1,000 additional security forces will be a visible change in the urban environment intended to address reports of looting. The destruction of infrastructure, such as the Pereira airport and a historic cathedral in Manizales, will likely impact regional travel and cultural activity for the foreseeable future. Individuals whose homes were destroyed or damaged will face long-term displacement while awaiting inspections of buildings left leaning or cracked by the tremors.
The disaster also presents an immediate test for the administration of President Abelardo De La Espriella, who assumed power only days before the quake. The government's ability to coordinate rescue efforts across multiple states and maintain order through curfews will set a precedent for his handling of domestic crises. As rescue workers continue to dig through debris, the priority remains finding the 188 people reported missing in Cali. Future efforts will likely shift toward formal damage assessments and the reconstruction of the coffee-growing heartland, though specific dates for the lifting of curfews or the restoration of the hospital have not yet been reported.