7.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Colombia with serious material damage in several cities

Bogota.- A 7.4 magnitude earthquake shook a large part of Colombia this Monday, according to the Colombian Geological Service (SGC), and authorities reported damage in several cities such as Manizales, Cali, and Pereira.

The SGC had initially reported that the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.7, but in another bulletin it indicated that it was 7.4.

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The tremor was felt at 07:34 local time (12:34 GMT) and its epicenter was the town of San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, located on the Pacific coast, at a depth of 82 kilometers, the SGC indicated in an initial bulletin.

The earthquake was felt in Bogotá, Cali, Popayán, Manizales, Armenia, Pereira, Medellín, and other cities in the center and west of the country, and there was material damage in some of them.

In Cali and Manizales, parts of the facades of many buildings detached, and in the latter city, one of the cathedral’s towers suffered damage.

“There are many cracked buildings,” said the mayor of Cali, Alejandro Eder, in statements to the radio station Blu Radio, with no information on victims so far.

In Pereira, the capital of the Risaralda department, numerous buildings suffered significant structural damage, including the airport, and some partially collapsed.

For his part, the mayor of Bogotá, Carlos Fernando Galán, pointed out that, for the moment, “there is no report of damage or structural harm, only some cracks in buildings”.