Violent earthquake in Colombia, over 110 dead and many trapped under the rubble

The official death toll from the earthquake in Colombia, updated at 12:30 Colombian time, is 111 dead and 87 injured. This was reported by President Abelardo de la Espriella in his first public message after the emergency Unified Command meeting. The president stated that from now on, the government will provide the official figures regarding the victims and damages caused by the quake. "The national government has deployed all its capabilities; the priority is to save people trapped under the rubble," said de la Espriella. A very strong and endless earthquake, magnitude 7.4 and lasting even 4 minutes, struck Colombia early in the morning, causing death and destruction. Just a month and a half after the two tremors that brought Venezuela to its knees, the earth trembled again in Latin America. The epicenter was in San José del Palmar, 96 km deep, in a rural area in the Colombian state of Chocó, 300 km from Bogotá. But the quake was so violent that it was felt throughout the region, from Ecuador to Panama. Panic ensued but, at least from initial estimates, no damage was reported in the capital, where firefighters are inspecting the many damaged buildings neighborhood by neighborhood. The most affected centers are Cali - the country's third city - Pereira, Armenia, and Manizales, where the cathedral tower also collapsed: together they have a population of 3.5 million. Here, just hours after the violent quake, dozens of deaths were already counted and many buildings reduced to rubble. The toll, updated hour by hour, continues to rise. Many are still missing, trapped under the debris, and efforts are ongoing to save lives. Hours of anguish in Cali, where the university hospital collapsed: in particular, the pediatrics wing and the intensive care unit have become a pile of debris, and it is feared that many children remain trapped there. The Villa Salud Clinic, one of the city's most well-known private facilities, was also destroyed; it is located a few kilometers from the auditorium where Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in just three days ago. This natural emergency is the first test that the Trumpian leader must face in his new role as President. "I have requested a detailed report on the situation and the most urgent needs. I will personally go to Pereira," he announced enthusiastically on social media, "to stand with the affected people and assess the government's response. You are not alone. The State is present and intervening," he concluded. He then declared a state of emergency due to a natural disaster. But the country, as often happens in such moments, is experiencing chaos. In the most affected areas, there are some disruptions in gas, electricity, and water supplies. Communications are also severely affected: authorities have asked the population to share news via social media or WhatsApp instead of mobile phones to avoid overloading the lines. At least for today, the airports in Cali, Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura are closed "for safety reasons." "Air operations at these terminals remain suspended until structural damage assessments are completed," reports a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority. Currently, as reported by the Italian ambassador in Bogotá, Giancarlo Curcio, no Italians have been reported affected by the quake. The Foreign Ministry and Minister Antonio Tajani are monitoring the situation in coordination with the embassy in Colombia. The fear was immense, and now there are concerns about possible aftershocks: the Andes chain is generally a high seismicity zone. Colombia, in particular, is exposed to an extremely high seismic risk, being one of the few countries in the world where three tectonic plates converge. The country experiences an average of 50,000 earthquakes per month, although most are imperceptible to humans. The area of today’s earthquake epicenter is the same where some of the most devastating earthquakes in the country's history occurred: in 1999, a magnitude 6.2 quake struck the city of Armenia, nearly at the same latitude as today’s epicenter, but in the Central Cordillera, causing extensive damage and nearly 1,000 deaths. In 1983, Popayán, in the Western Cordillera and further south, was struck by another earthquake that caused 287 deaths. Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA