Death toll from Colombia earthquake rises to at least 164, rescue efforts continue
Rescue efforts across western Colombia continued for a second day on Tuesday as emergency workers dug through collapsed buildings and flattened homes, amid expectations that the death toll from the country's most powerful earthquake in decades could rise. The 7.4-magnitude quake struck the heart of Colombia's coffee-growing region early Monday, killing at least 164 people.
Emergency crews, aided by police, soldiers and volunteers, worked through the night with excavators and, sometimes, with their bare hands, searching for survivors under the rubble. In Cali, a city of about 2.2 million people, at least 85 people were killed. Dozens of buildings were left leaning precariously or completely destroyed, forcing residents onto the streets.
In Pereira, the capital of the hard-hit state of Risaralda, authorities reported 66 deaths. The city also suffered some of the most visible destruction, with entire residential blocks reduced to piles of twisted concrete and steel.
President Abelardo De La Espriella, who took power just days ago, said 35 people had died in Cali alone, while 188 were missing. He said 1,000 members of the security forces would be deployed in the city by dawn after reports of looting. Cali, as well as Pereira, imposed a curfew on Monday evening.
"Our goal is to cooperate in any way necessary. Here, there are no differences or ideological divisions when it comes to protecting our people or showing solidarity," De La Espriella told reporters.
The disaster has been compared to a deadly 1999 earthquake that devastated the same coffee-growing region, killing more than 1,000 people, as well as to catastrophic earthquakes that killed more than 6,300 people in neighboring Venezuela in June.
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