A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, sending tremors through the South American nation and across the border into neighboring Ecuador. The seismic event triggered widespread evacuations as residents fled homes and buildings for safety.
Data from the U.S. Geological Survey and Colombian authorities placed the epicenter in San Jose Del Palmar, a municipality situated in the Choco region approximately 250 miles (400 kilometers) west of the Colombian capital, Bogota. According to the USGS, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 66 miles (107 kilometers).
Choco Governor Nubia Córdoba confirmed the impact on social media, reporting that there are injuries and significant structural damage to buildings within the regional capital, though specific details regarding the extent of the destruction remain limited. The recent activity follows a series of seismic events in Venezuela in late June, where back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude resulted in the destruction of hundreds of buildings and the deaths of more than 5,000 people.
Those earthquakes destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed more than 5,000 people.
