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Photos: Rescue efforts intensify as quake devastates western Colombia towns

Rescue teams rush to find survivors as western Colombia grapples with deadly earthquake devastation.

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A rescue worker searches for survivors in the rubble of buildings.
A rescue worker searches for survivors after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia [Santiago Saldarriaga/AP Photo]
By AFP, AP and Reuters
Published On 11 Aug 2026

Search and rescue teams are racing against time across western Colombia after a powerful earthquake killed at least 132 people and left thousands missing, authorities say.

The magnitude 7.4 quake struck on Monday, rattling Cali, Quibdo, Pereira and dozens of other cities and towns. About 1,600 buildings have been reported damaged or collapsed, with soldiers, emergency crews and residents working side by side, passing chunks of concrete by hand as they search for survivors under the rubble.

Families are posting details of missing relatives on citizen-run websites; by Monday night more than 2,700 people had been reported missing. In El Cairo, near the epicentre in San Jose del Palmar, local officials say 80 percent of the town, home to about 7,000 people, has been damaged. Many of its traditional houses, made of sticks and mud, crumpled in the tremors.

President Abelardo de la Espriella, facing his first major crisis since taking office on Friday, has deployed “the entire military and police apparatus”, sending engineers, rescue teams and search dogs into the worst-hit areas. The US has pledged $15.5m in emergency aid, as regional governments also offer support to one of Colombia’s poorest and most isolated regions.

Rescue efforts intensify as quake devastates western Colombia towns
Colombian volunteers and rescuers sifted through rubble with bare hands and buckets, hunting for survivors following a magnitude 7.4 quake that killed at least 132 people. [Santiago Saldarriaga/AP Photo]
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Rescue efforts intensify as quake devastates western Colombia towns
The quake on Monday ravaged cities across western Colombia, including Cali, Pereira, Quibdo and Manizales, and was felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama. [Miguel Angel Lopez/AP Photo]
Rescue efforts intensify as quake devastates western Colombia towns
The quake struck shortly after 7:30am (12:30 GMT), sending panicked residents onto the streets and damaging at least 1,500 buildings. [Santiago Saldarriaga/AP Photo]
Rescue efforts intensify as quake devastates western Colombia towns
An elderly man receives help walking past the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Pereira, Colombia. [Jaime Saldarriaga/AFP]
Rescue efforts intensify as quake devastates western Colombia towns
In Cali, the country’s third-largest city, search teams and civilians picked through the remains of destroyed buildings, passing large pieces of concrete and other rubble down a long line of volunteers. [Jaime Saldarriaga/AFP]
Rescue efforts intensify as quake devastates western Colombia towns
Local officials said at least 20 buildings crumbled, while 380 were damaged, trapping many people. [Santiago Saldarriaga/AP Photo]
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Rescue efforts intensify as quake devastates western Colombia towns
The earthquake struck just days after Abelardo de La Espriella was sworn in as president, thrusting the new administration into its first major crisis, with memories still fresh of devastating twin earthquakes in neighbouring Venezuela in June. [Juan Diaz/AP Photo]
Rescue efforts intensify as quake devastates western Colombia towns
By Monday afternoon, people had begun reporting their loved ones missing on digital databases, one of which had more than 1,400 people, mostly in Cali and Pereira, with the number steadily climbing. [Jaime Saldarriaga/AFP]
Rescue efforts intensify as quake devastates western Colombia towns
Small earthquakes, known as “temblores”, are common in Colombia, which sits along the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, but those above magnitude 6.0 are rare. In 1999, a magnitude 6.2 quake near the city of Armenia killed more than 1,100 people. [Santiago Saldarriaga/AP Photo]
Rescue efforts intensify as quake devastates western Colombia towns
Authorities warned the toll could rise as rescuers searched collapsed buildings across several cities. [Miguel Angel Lopez/AP Photo]