More than two months after a deep magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on the morning of August 10, communities across Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, Chocó, Caldas and Quindío are moving from emergency response into a long recovery. The Colombia earthquake hit at 7:34 a.m. local time, centered near San José del Palmar in Chocó at a depth of about 108 kilometers, according to the USGS. It was the country's deadliest earthquake since the 1999 quake that devastated Armenia and Pereira.
The toll
As of October, at least 335 people had died, about 4,611 had been injured and 111 were still 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, estimate losses at about US$13.4 billion, roughly 2.3% of the country's GDP.
Government and international response
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 sent 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.
Relief organizations on the ground
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 families. You can find more groups in our list of disaster relief organizations.
With more than 240,000 homes damaged or destroyed, the need will last well beyond the emergency phase. To support survivors, visit the Colombia earthquake disaster page and donate to the organizations responding.
