Aug 11 (V7N) — A powerful earthquake jolted Colombia and neighbouring Latin American countries on Monday, with medical teams rushing to help victims after buildings were damaged or collapsed in several cities.
The Colombian Geological Service and the US Geological Survey (USGS) put the magnitude at 7.4, with the epicenter 100 km (60 miles) deep in the west of the country. Colombia had initially reported it as 6.6.
Colombian officials said there was no tsunami threat after the early-morning quake, which was also felt in Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.
It triggered building evacuations in Bogota, AFP reporters said, while news footage showed collapsed buildings in other parts of the country.
The governor of Choco province wrote on X that there were injuries and serious damage in the provincial capital Quibdo, where video obtained by an AFP reporter showed a collapsed building.
News outlets also aired footage of buildings destroyed in cities such as Pereira and Manizales in the tourist region known as Eje Cafetero.
'Strong, really strong' -
"There is no electricity or cell phone coverage. It was strong, really strong. Things fell in my house," Martha Estrada, 66, a resident of Eje Cafetero — the coffee-growing region — told AFP.
Alejandro Eder, mayor of Cali, Colombia's third-largest city, also reported "major damage" that was being assessed using drones.
"The quake was very, very strong," said Valeria Polo, 29, a content creator in Bogota.
Six small airports in western Colombia suspended operations, the civil aeronautics agency said.
Bogota Mayor Carlos Galan told Blu Radio that damage in the capital appeared limited to cracks on facades of houses and buildings.
President Abelardo de la Espriella announced he would travel to the quake-hit region.
In Bogota, people ran out into the streets in their pajamas as emergency sirens went off, AFP reporters said.
Twin earthquakes in Venezuela of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 on June 24 had killed more than 6,000 people and caused massive property damage.
END/AJ/RH
