7.4-Magnitude Earthquake Kills at Least 20 on Pacific Coast

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia at 7:34 a.m. local time, with an epicenter near San José del Palmar in the sparsely populated Chocó department, at a depth of roughly 79–107 km. At least 20 people were killed — 18 in Pereira and 2 in Manizales, according to local mayors — with dozens of buildings collapsing across multiple cities and residents trapped in debris. Quibdó, the Chocó departmental capital, suffered serious structural damage, and the tremor was felt as far away as Bogotá, Ecuador, and Panama. A magnitude-4.8 aftershock followed shortly after the main shock. The Colombian Geological Service initially measured the quake at 6.6 before revising it upward to 7.4.