50 killed in Colombia earthquake

 

A powerful earthquake in western Colombia on Monday shook the South American nation and neighboring Ecuador, prompting people to evacuate homes and buildings. The United States Geological Survey and Colombia’s counterpart both reported a 7.4 magnitude, while relatively deep.

 

The epicenter was in San Jose Del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Choco region about 250 miles (400 kilometers) west of Bogota, the U.S. Geological Survey and Colombia’s counterpart reported. The USGS said it struck at a depth of 66 miles (107 kilometers). The quake also was felt in neighboring Ecuador and Panama, though minimal damage was reported there.

 

Local officials confirmed that at least 18 people had been killed in the city of Pereira, two in the city of Manizales, and 27 people in the Valle del Cauca department, where Colombia’s third-biggest city, Cali, is located. At least three killed in Valle del Cauca were children, the governor reported.

 

The quake left cities across the west of the country – Pereira, Quibdo, Cali and Manizales – ravaged. A mix of residents and search teams picked through the rubble of collapsed buildings amid concerns by authorities of aftershocks. Colombia’s interior minister said more than 20 municipalities across the country had been hit.

 

Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver in Cali, said he saw plumes of dust shoot up across the city from his home in hills of the city as buildings collapsed. Residents in the city and rescue workers were searching the rubble for survivors.