Colombia Earthquake

At 7:34 a.m. local time on August 10, 2026, a deep magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia. Its epicenter was near San José del Palmar in Chocó department, at a depth of about 108 kilometers according to the USGS. Violent shaking spread across the departments of Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, Chocó, Caldas and Quindío, including the cities of Cali, Pereira, Quibdó, Manizales and Armenia and the port of Buenaventura. It was Colombia's deadliest earthquake since the 1999 quake that devastated Armenia and Pereira.

As of October, at least 335 people had died, about 4,611 had been injured and 111 remained missing. Most of the deaths were in Cali and Pereira: Valle del Cauca recorded 184 deaths, Risaralda 108 and Chocó 14. More than 466,700 people were affected. About 206,931 homes were damaged and 36,478 destroyed, 743 buildings collapsed, and about 397 health centers and 4,316 schools were damaged. The UNDP and Colombia's disaster risk management agency, UNGRD, put losses at about US$13.4 billion, roughly 2.3% of GDP.

President de la Espriella declared a national disaster and, on August 12, an economic emergency, and curfews were imposed in Cali and Pereira. Colombia moved to activate a World Bank loan of up to US$450 million, and the Bank later released US$200 million in emergency financing. The United States pledged US$26.5 million and deployed urban search-and-rescue teams from Los Angeles County and Fairfax County, Virginia. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the global network that includes the American Red Cross, launched a CHF 25 million emergency appeal.

Humanitarian organizations mobilized alongside the government. World Central Kitchen and Direct Relief launched emergency responses, and Samaritan's Purse airlifted about 100,000 pounds of relief supplies. Americares, Save the Children, Convoy of Hope and Operation Blessing also responded, and CARE, the Global Empowerment Mission and All Hands and Hearts are among the other organizations supporting affected communities.