Magnitude 7.4 earthquake shakes Colombia, damages Bogotá and coastal towns

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia at 07:34 local time on Aug. 10, 2026, with its epicenter 5 kilometers east of San José del Palmar in Chocó and a depth of about 103 kilometers. The deep quake shook Bogotá, Medellín and Cali, and reports quickly spread from Colombia’s Pacific coast into the country’s largest cities.

Damage and injuries were reported along the Pacific coast and in the Colombian capital, while emergency teams moved into Pereira, Quibdó, Cali and Manizales after buildings collapsed and residents searched damaged structures for survivors. Evacuations were carried out in Colombia and Ecuador, and no tsunami alert was issued. The depth helped explain why the tremor was felt so widely across western Colombia even though the epicenter was clustered near San José del Palmar.

The human toll shifted rapidly through the day as live updates changed from early assessments to a much grimmer picture. One early update said no major property damage or casualties had been reported, but later coverage put the death toll anywhere from at least 20 to at least 77 as responders pulled people from collapsed buildings and checked damaged neighborhoods. The widening range reflected the speed with which the situation changed after the first violent shaking.

The quake came just weeks after two major earthquakes in Venezuela on June 24, 2026, killed at least 32 people and injured hundreds, adding to pressure on a region already living with a high seismic threat. Colombia sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the latest rupture near the Pacific coast showed how quickly a deep-focus quake can rattle dense urban centers, damage smaller inland cities and force emergency services to spread across multiple provinces at once.