7.4 earthquake rattles Colombia, major damage reported in western cities

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake centered near San José del Palmar in Colombia’s Chocó department tore through the country’s western corridor, collapsing buildings in Cali and leaving a trail of destruction in Pereira while Bogotá was largely spared. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 7:34 a.m. local time at a depth of 107 kilometers, about 280 kilometers west of the capital.

The shaking rippled far beyond the epicenter area. It was felt in Bogotá, Cali and Medellín, and residents reported tremors as far away as Venezuela. In Bogotá, people evacuated homes and office buildings after the ground moved, but the most severe damage clustered much closer to San José del Palmar, where the force of the quake hit the western cities along the same corridor.

Cali sustained collapsed buildings and significant damage, according to Reuters Connect images from the city. Pereira, about 35 miles from the epicenter, emerged as one of the hardest-hit places, with a New York Times live update saying at least 20 people were reported dead there. Footage from the city showed damaged streets and buildings after the quake, underscoring how the strongest losses followed the line of cities nearest the epicenter rather than the national capital.

The geography of the damage matched the quake’s placement. San José del Palmar sits in the rugged Chocó region, far to the west of Bogotá, and the depth of 107 kilometers helped spread the shaking across much of Colombia without producing the same level of destruction in the capital. That left western cities to absorb the brunt of the structural damage, transport disruption and emergency response demands.

The quake also landed in a country that has already been jolted by major seismic activity. On June 8, 2025, Reuters reported a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in Colombia, and the U.S. Geological Survey listed a magnitude 6.3 event 15 kilometers northeast of Paratebueno. The new quake added fresh pressure on cities already exposed to repeated shaking, with Cali and Pereira facing the most immediate rebuilding and rescue burdens.