Colombia hit by 7.4-magnitude earthquake, with injuries and damage reported

People gather outside a building following an earthquake in Bogota, Colombia, August 10, 2026. (Reuters: Luisa Gonzalez)

A magnitude-7.4 earthquake has shaken parts of Colombia and Ecuador, with reports of significant damage in some areas.

Columbian President Abelardo De La Espriella says he has assumed leadership of the emergency response.

The quake follows two major quakes in Venezuela in late June which killed more than 5,000 people.

A powerful earthquake has shaken western Colombia and neighbouring Ecuador, prompting people to evacuate homes and buildings.

The National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) said the 7.34am quake had a 6.6 magnitude and a depth of 79 km, adding it was in contact with local authorities to verify potential damage.

UNGRD and the US Geological Survey later revised the quake's magnitude up to 7.4.

Injuries and significant damage was reported in the Pacific Colombian province of Choco.

"I have requested from the director of the UNGRD a detailed report on the situation and the most urgent needs. I will also be personally in Pereira to accompany the affected people and verify the Government's response," he wrote on X.

The governor of Colombia's Choco province wrote on X that there were injuries and serious damage to buildings in the department's capital Quibdo.

The US's Tsunami Warning System said there was no risk of a tsunami following the earthquake.

The provincial governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba-Curi took to X to provide an update on what she described as  "a major earthquake", warning local residents about aftershocks.

"Although the epicentre was near San Jose del Palmar, there are injuries and significant damage to buildings in the capital, Quibdo," she said.

The governor of neighbouring Risaralda province, Juan Diego Patino, told local Blu Radio there was "serious damage to some buildings" in Pereira, the provincial capital.

The temblor follows two back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes in Venezuela in late June. Those earthquakes destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed more than 5,000 people.