At least 20 people were killed and dozens of buildings collapsed across western Colombia on Monday after a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the South American country, trapping people beneath debris, injuring others and forcing residents to leave their homes as far away as the capital, Bogota.
The epicenter was located in San Jose del Palmar, a community of around 4,800 people in the Choco region, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) west of Bogota, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and Colombia’s geological agency. The USGS said the earthquake occurred at a depth of 66 miles (107 kilometers). Tremors were also felt in neighboring Ecuador.
Local authorities reported that at least 18 people died in Pereira and two others were killed in Manizales.
Cities across western Colombia were badly affected, with residents searching through the rubble as authorities warned of possible aftershocks.
Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver in Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, said he saw clouds of dust rise across the city from his home in the mountains as buildings collapsed. Residents and rescue workers were already combing through the debris of collapsed structures Monday morning.
“My entire house shook,” he said. “I’ve never experienced such a powerful earthquake.”
In Manizales, a city surrounded by Colombia’s coffee-growing mountains, one of the towers of its neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed onto the nave. Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said two people were killed in the city “because of the quake” and urged residents to remain outside because of the risk of aftershocks.
Choco Gov. Nubia Cordoba said on social media that Quibdo, the regional capital, had suffered injuries and serious damage to buildings. She did not provide additional details.
Images and videos shared by local media showed homes and smaller buildings collapsing in Pereira, Cali and Quibdo.
In Cali, a city of about 2 million people, Mayor Alejandro Eder said residents were trapped inside at least 19 collapsed buildings.
Small earthquakes, locally known as “temblores,” are common in central and western Colombia, but quakes above magnitude 6.0 are unusual. A 6.2-magnitude earthquake near Armenia in 1999 killed more than 1,100 people.
Colombia’s newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella said Monday that he had personally taken charge of the government’s emergency response in San Jose del Palmar following the earthquake.
“You are not alone. The state is present and taking action,” he said.
The earthquake came after two consecutive quakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck Venezuela in late June. Those earthquakes destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed more than 5,000 people.