Colombia Earthquake: Death Toll Rises To 111 As Rescuers Search Collapsed Buildings

Edited
by:
Rebecca
Staude maie

A
powe ful
ea thquake
shook
weste
Colombia
ea ly
o
Mo day
mo i g.

A ou d
six
hou s
afte
the
quake
st uck,
Colombia’s
p eside t
said
that
111
people
had
bee
co fi med
dead
a ou d
the
cou t y.

Rescue
teams
we e
wo ki g
to
f ee
eside ts
afte
buildi gs
collapsed
i
Cali
a d
othe
cities.

The
epice te
was
o
the
easte
tip
of
the
Choco
p ovi ce
o
Colombia’s
Pacific
coast.

What
is
the
latest?

Colombia’s
ewly-i augu ated
P eside t
Abela do
de
la
Esp iella
said
that
he
had
pe so ally
take
cha ge
of
the
gove me t’s
espo se
to
the
eme ge cy.

He
said
that
locati g
a yo e
still
pote tially
t apped
was
the
highest
p io ity
fo
escue s
a d
decla ed
a
atio al
state
of
eme ge cy.

“As
of
12:30
[local
time],
the
toll
stood
at
111
dead
a d
87
i ju ed,
with
1,575
homes
damaged,
37
completely
dest oyed,
61
buildi gs
collapsed,
a d
18
health
ce te s
a d
52
schools
damaged,”
de
la
Esp iella
said
f om
Bogota.

Eu opea
Commissio
P eside t
U sula
vo
de
Leye
said
the
EU
sta ds
” eady
to
p ovide
mo e
suppo t”
to
Colombia.
The
bloc’s
satellite
se vice,
Cope icus,
has
al eady
bee
mobilized
to
aid
escue s.

“To ight,
Eu ope’s
hea t
is
with
the
people
of
Colombia,”
she
w ote
o
social
media.

Sec eta y
of
State
Ma co
Rubio
said
the
US
was
“closely
mo ito i g”
the
situatio
a d
stood
” eady
to
suppo t
the
people
of
Colombia.”

What’s
happe i g
o
the
g ou d?

The
mayo
of
Cali,
Aleja d o
Ede ,
said
that
at
least
20
buildi gs
had
collapsed,
i
some
cases
with
people
t apped
i side.

“Reside ts
of
Cali,
we
cu e tly
have
at
least
20
collapsed
st uctu es
i
the
city
with
people
t apped
i side;
we
a e
al eady
ma agi g
this
eme ge cy
alo gside
all
of
Cali’s
escue
age cies,”
Ede
said
o
I stag am,
posti g
a
accompa yi g
video
stateme t.
“I
have
equested
suppo t
—
specifically
escue
pe so el
—
f om
the
mayo s
of
Bogota
a d
Medelli .”

Autho ities
i
the
Valle
del
Cauca,
whose
capital
city
is
Cali,
said
that
at
least
27
people
had
died
i
the
quake,
i
umbe s
issued
p io
to
the
p eside t’s
add ess.

Officials
i
Risa alda
had
said
that
40
people
had
died
ac oss
the
state,
at
least
18
of
them
i
the
capital
Pe ei a
based
o
ea lie
comme ts
f om
the
mayo .

The
gove o
of
the
Choco
egio
whe e
the
quake’s
epice te
was
located,
Nubia
Ca oli a
Co doba-Cu i,
said
the e
we e
12
dead
a d
84
wou ded
i
he
dist ict
as
of
lu ch
time
local
time.

A d
the
mayo
of
Ma izales,
Jo ge
Edua do
Rojas,
said
i
a
adio
i te view
that
two
people
we e
killed
i
his
city,
i
the
Caldas
egio
ot
fa
o theast
of
Pe ei a.

Colombia’s
civil
aviatio
autho ity
epo ted
damage
at
six
elatively
mi o
ai po ts
a d
said
flights
we e
suspe ded
while
it
was
exami ed.

“Damage
is
epo ted
at
the
ai po ts
of
Pe ei a,
Ma izales,
Quibdo,
A me ia,
Ca tago,
a d
Bue ave tu a.
Fo
safety
easo s,
ai
ope atio s
at
these
te mi als
emai
suspe ded
u til
st uctu al
damage
to
the
i f ast uctu e
is
assessed,”
it
w ote
o li e,
late
addi g
Cali’s
ai po t
to
this
list.

What
do
we
k ow
about
the
quake’s
size
a d
locatio ?

The
US
Geological
Su vey
(USGS)
measu ed
the
quake
at
mag itude
7.4.
Colombia’s
atio al
autho ity
at
fi st
logged
a
smalle
figu e
but
late
evised
its
eadi g
up
to
7.4
as
well.

The
epice te
was
located
just
south
of
the
Tatama
Natio al
Natu e
Rese ve,
ea
Choco’s
easte
state
bo de .

The
epice te
was
oughly
equidista t
f om
Colombia’s
th ee
mai
cities,
Bogota
to
its
east,
Medelli
to
its
o th
a d
Cali
to
its
south.

The
closest
majo
populatio
ce te ,
Ca tago,
is
home
to
about
140,000
people
a d
a ou d
30
kilomete s
( oughly
20
miles)
f om
the
quake’s
epice te .

The
USGS
said
the
quake
was
also
quite
deep,
st iki g
a ou d
107
kilomete s
below
the
g ou d.
It
estimated
that
most
of
the
weste
half
of
Colombia
would
feel
the
t emo s.

T emo s
could
also
be
felt
i
eighbo i g
Ecuado
to
the
south,
a d
to
the
o th
a d
east
i
Pa ama
a d
Ve ezuela.

USGS
also
eco ded
a
fai ly
la ge
afte shock,
at
mag itude
5.0,
a
little
u de
a
hou
afte
the
mai
quake.

The
so-called
Ri g
of
Fi e
—
the
wo ld’s
most
active
belt
of
tecto ic
plates
a d
volca oes
e ci cli g
the
Pacific
Ocea
—
u s
alo g
Colombia’s
coastli e
ot
fa
f om
the
epice te
of
Mo day’s
quake.

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pa t
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a a geme t.
Apa t
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