Bogotá.- At least four people died in the Colombian department of Chocó, the epicenter of the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that shook the country this morning, bringing the death toll from the quake to 24 across the national territory.
According to the governor of Chocó, Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Curi, in addition to the four deaths in that department, there are at least 69 people injured, a figure that is expected to continue rising due to the severe damage left by the earthquake, which even caused the collapse of buildings in the center and the west of the country.
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In addition to the deaths in Chocó, there were at least 18 fatalities in Pereira, the capital of the Risaralda department, and two in Manizales, the capital of Caldas, cities that, along with Cali, were among the most affected by the earthquake.
“Damage to homes, buildings, and public and private infrastructure is being reported in different municipalities of the department,” said Córdoba-Curi, in his second report following the emergency.
The governor noted that authorities continue to carry out damage assessment work and provide assistance to those affected, while efforts to establish the scope of the emergency in the municipalities of Chocó are underway.
The department of Chocó, one of the poorest in Colombia which does not have sufficient resources to handle an emergency of this magnitude, was the area where the epicenter of the earthquake was recorded, in the municipality of San José del Palmar, although the movement was felt strongly in a good part of central and western Colombia.
The earthquake, recorded at 07:34 local time (12:34 GMT), had a depth of 82 kilometers, according to the Colombian Geological Service (SGC).
The number of victims is still being verified, and authorities are continuing search, rescue, and damage assessment efforts in the affected areas.
