Dozens killed after 7.4-magnitude earthquake devastates Colombia
Developing story first seen 3 hours ago
The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Colombia has risen, with reports now indicating dozens of people have died, up from the "multiple deaths" reported in initial coverage. The 7.4-magnitude quake caused widespread destruction, with footage showing a church collapsing and other buildings crumbling, trapping people beneath the rubble as rescue teams worked to reach survivors.
Details remain limited, but the scale of the disaster appears to be growing clearer as search and rescue operations continue across the affected areas. The full extent of the casualties, injuries and structural damage has not yet been confirmed, and officials are still assessing the impact of one of the region's most powerful recent earthquakes.
- Colombia earthquake death toll rises to "dozens" from earlier reports
- 7.4-magnitude quake caused buildings, including a church, to collapse
- Rescue teams searching rubble as full toll remains unconfirmed
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Colombia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", a zone where several tectonic plates meet, making it one of the more earthquake-prone countries in South America. Large quakes have hit the region before, sometimes with heavy loss of life, because of a mix of high seismic activity and buildings that are not always constructed to withstand strong shaking.
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake is a major event by any measure, capable of causing severe damage over a wide area, especially to older or poorly reinforced structures such as churches and homes. The key players in a disaster of this kind are typically the national government and emergency services, who lead the search and rescue effort, alongside local communities directly affected and international bodies that may offer aid.
Earthquakes of this size matter because their impact often extends well beyond the initial event, with aftershocks, damaged infrastructure and disrupted access to affected areas complicating rescue and recovery efforts for days or weeks afterwards. The true human and material cost usually only becomes clear gradually, as rescue teams reach harder-hit or more remote locations.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Huge 7.4-magnitude earthquake hits Colombia, burying people beneath collapsed buildings, with multiple deaths”.