Powerful 7.4 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Colombia's Pacific Coast, Causing Widespread Damage

Structural damage in Manizales following the powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake.. Source: Colombia Reports

A powerful magnitude-7.4 earthquake has struck Colombia’s Pacific coast, leaving multiple people injured and causing significant structural damage across western regions of the country.

According to Colombia's geological service, the quake hit at 07:34 local time (12:34 GMT) at a depth of 96 kilometers (60 miles). 

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) placed the epicenter approximately 5 kilometers east of the rural village of San José del Palmar in the Chocó province.

Nubia Carolina Córdoba, Governor of Chocó, confirmed that injuries had been reported across affected communities and expressed grave concerns over potential aftershocks as local authorities assess the full scale of destruction.

Despite occurring at a considerable depth, tremors were felt hundreds of kilometers away in the capital city of Bogotá, where precautionary evacuations of several high-rise buildings were executed.

Event Details	Specifications
Magnitude	7.4
Time / Date	07:34 local time (12:34 GMT), Monday
Epicenter	5 km East of San José del Palmar, Chocó Province
Focal Depth	96 km (Colombian Geological Service) / 110 km (USGS)
Affected Areas	Chocó, Manizales (Coffee Region), Bogotá (evacuations)

In the country's central coffee region, severe impacts were reported in the city of Manizales. Video footage circulating online showed collapsed structures, including the fallen spire of a local church, as rescuers and bystanders searched through rubble for potentially trapped individuals.

The disaster follows twin earthquakes that devastated neighboring Venezuela less than two months prior, claiming over 6,100 lives, raising heightened urgency for search and emergency response teams across western Colombia.