At least 132 killed in Colombia's largest earthquake in years

Read the original at BBC News ↗
Cite

Buschschlüter, V., Cueto, J. C., & McNamee, M. S. (2026, August 11). At least 132 killed in Colombia's largest earthquake in years. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20e360lx0vo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

BBC News · collected 2026-08-11 · by Vanessa Buschschlüter, José Carlos Cueto, Michael Sheils McNamee

Quick Summary

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake has struck western Colombia, killing at least 132 people and injuring at least 570, with the death toll likely to rise as more are feared trapped under collapsed buildings. The quake, which occurred on an unspecified date and time, had its epicentre near the village of San José del Palmar in Chocó province, causing widespread damage across a vast area stretching hundreds of miles. Many deaths have been concentrated in the city of Pereira, where 67 people are reported dead and 65 buildings have collapsed, with people believed to be trapped in 15 of them. The quake was felt as far away as Manizales, Quibdó, Medellín, and Cali, which each suffered varying degrees of damage.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-21, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 164 people, with the death toll expected to rise. The quake reduced multi-storey buildings to rubble in cities such as Pereira and Cali, and cracked apart one of the towers of a historic cathedral in the city of Manizales. Emergency teams worked through the night, aided by police, soldiers, and volunteers, hunting for survivors beneath debris. In Cali, home to about 2.2 million people, at least 85 people were killed, with dozens of buildings left leaning precariously or destroyed outright. Several floors of one of the city's hospitals collapsed, leaving some patients trapped and forcing others to be tended to on a street strewn with rubble. The epicentre was located in San José del Palmar, near Colombia's Pacific coast.

Written for “Colombia Earthquake Disaster” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Colombia Earthquake Disaster
World · 5 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
BBC News · 0.87 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 20% hedged 1 of 5 📰 publisher trust 72
“Both articles report on a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck Colombia on August 11, 2026, with similar details about the death toll and destruction.”
CBC News · 0.85 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 7% hedged 1 of 15 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles report on the exact same earthquake (7.4 magnitude), location (western Colombia, specifically Chocó province and coffee-growing region), time (Monday at 07:34 GMT) and death toll estimate with similar numbers.”
CBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 2% hedged 1 of 45 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles report on a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that occurred on August 11, 2026, at the same time (07:34), with the same location and magnitude, resulting in multiple casualties.”
BBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 12% hedged 1 of 8 📰 publisher trust 72
“Both articles report on a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Colombia, with the same date and time (August 11 at 07:34), resulting in deaths and destruction”
BBC News
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 9% hedged 4 of 45 📰 publisher trust 72
“Article A describes an earthquake in Colombia with a death toll and details about the impact, while Article B mentions a different incident in Venezuela and later in Colombia”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
35
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
2 of 35 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
72/100
BBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
5
World
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-11 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

BBC News · 3535 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Vanessa Buschschlüter
7 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 - Published Brazil's Congress has approved a constitutional amendment that will cut the working week from 44 hours to 40 and give employees two days off per week without cutting their salary.
🔮 The incumbent, veteran left-wing leader Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva, will be challenged by 11 candidates, the most prominent of whom is right-winger Flávio Bolsonaro.
🔮 - Published People living on the northern Pacific coast of Mexico are bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Polo, which is forecast to make landfall later on Monday or early on Tuesday. The category three storm, with maximum sustained winds near 115 mph (185 km/h), is expected to move over the state Baja California Sur, a region popular with tourists and home to the resort destination of Los Cabos. Meteorologists at the US-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) have warned of heavy rainfall which could lead to life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain. Residents on Sunday stocked up on essentials such as drinking water and food as the storm approached.
2026-09-28 · mixed framing · Mexico's Pacific coast braces for Hurricane Polo
🔮 More than three million people live in Sinaloa and many say that the war between the two rival factions - known as Los Chapitos and La Mayiza - has blighted their lives.
🔮 - Published The Argentine government has said that it would file criminal charges against oil company Navitas Petroleum for operating in seas off the Falkland Islands.
🔮 The epicentre of the quake was near the village of San José del Palmar, in Chocó province, but local mayor León Fabio Marín Moncada said that there had miraculously been no deaths or injuries - despite the roads in and out being damaged.
🔮 The government-controlled National Assembly is expected to approve the extension in September.
Also by Vanessa Buschschlüter
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 7 articles by Vanessa Buschschlüter →
José Carlos Cueto
2 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The epicentre of the quake was near the village of San José del Palmar, in Chocó province, but local mayor León Fabio Marín Moncada said that there had miraculously been no deaths or injuries - despite the roads in and out being damaged.
🔮 I confronted my grandmother, but she said it was normal and that I could not tell anyone."
Also by José Carlos Cueto
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
Michael Sheils McNamee
3 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The quake, which hit just before 15:00 local time (18:00 GMT), could trigger tsunamis in Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile and Mexico, according to the US Tsunami Warning System.
🔮 The epicentre of the quake was near the village of San José del Palmar, in Chocó province, but local mayor León Fabio Marín Moncada said that there had miraculously been no deaths or injuries - despite the roads in and out being damaged.
Also by Michael Sheils McNamee
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

BBC Chocó Colombia Manizales Pereira

Subjects

Colombia GPE · 6× Manizales GPE · 5× Pereira PERSON · 4× Chocó GPE · 3× BBC ORG · 2× Cali GPE · 2× Quibdó GPE · 2× Venezuela GPE · 2× León Fabio Marín Moncada PERSON · 1× San José del Palmar GPE · 1×

Narrative

Colombia's President Abelardo de la Espriella has declared a national disaster situation, creating special powers to react to the emergency, including to reallocate budgets. Having only taken up the role on Friday, the new president is immediately faced with a potentially legacy-defining event.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-11
🔮 The epicentre of the quake was near the village of San José del Palmar, in Chocó province, but local mayor León Fabio Marín Moncada said that there had miraculously been no deaths or injuries - despite the roads in and out being damaged.
2026-08-11 · BBC News
At least 132 killed in Colombia's largest earthquake in years · assertive framing

Claims (35 extracted, 2 hedged)

- Published At least 132 people are dead and a state of emergency has been declared after Colombia was hit by one of its largest earthquakes in years. asserted
Colombia → publish → years
The death toll is likely to rise, with more feared trapped under collapsed buildings. asserted
more → rise → buildings
The magnitude 7.4 quake struck at 07:34 (12:34 GMT) at a depth of 103km (64 miles) in Chocó province, the country's geological service said. asserted
service → strike → province
It was felt across an enormous area, stretching for hundreds of miles across western Colombia. asserted
It → feel → Colombia
Many of the deaths have been concentrated in the city of Pereira, in Colombia's coffee-growing region, with surrounding cities and the Valle del Cauca region also hit hard. asserted
cities → concentrate → region
The epicentre of the quake was near the village of San José del Palmar, in Chocó province, but local mayor León Fabio Marín Moncada said that there had miraculously been no deaths or injuries - despite the roads in and out being damaged. asserted
Moncada → say → roads
At least 570 people were injured in the quakes, Colombia's Association of Capital Cities wrote in a statement update on Monday. asserted
Association → injure → Monday
About 55km (34 miles) from the epicentre of the earthquake, the city of Pereira saw some of the worst damage. asserted
city → see → damage
Videos verified by the BBC show at least one building collapsing in Plaza Bolívar, the city's main square, with scattered debris and dust across the open space where many people had gathered. asserted
people → verify → space
Local authorities have reported at least 67 people dead in the city's metropolitan area, with 65 collapsed buildings. asserted
people → report → buildings
People are believed to be trapped in 15 of them. asserted
People → believe → them
Thirty-two buildings collapsed in Cali, located about 160km south of Pereira and about 200km from the epicentre. asserted
buildings → collapse → epicentre
Being woken by the earthquake, he told the BBC: "I've never experienced anything like it." asserted
I → wake → it
"We sprinted outside in our pyjamas. asserted
We → sprint → pyjamas
There's no major structural damage to the hotel, but there are surface cracks in the walls, and paint and plaster have peeled off," he says. asserted
he → be → walls
At least two people have died in Manizales. asserted
people → die → Manizales
Speaking to BBC World Service, Angélica Ávila said she had been staying in a hotel in Manizales. asserted
she → speak → Manizales
She said as the earthquake hit, cracks appeared in the walls. asserted
cracks → say → walls
"Everyone was screaming... I saw dust coming out of the neighbouring buildings, and bricks were falling off the walls," she said. asserted
she → scream → walls
Journalist and meteorologist Luis Felipe Molina, from Manizales, was at home when the earthquake struck - about 150km from the epicentre. asserted
earthquake → strike → epicentre
He explained that due to previous earthquakes, the city has "very strict seismic-resistant building regulations" - so his building was able to resist the impact. asserted
building → explain → impact
"I have 450 books and only a few were left standing on the shelves. asserted
few → have → shelves
You could hear glass breaking and people screaming," he told BBC Mundo. uncertain
he → hear → Mundo
The country's aviation authority has reported damage at several regional airports, including those in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura. asserted
authority → report → Pereira
In the capital, Bogotá, trees and traffic lights shook violently, with reports of cracks in buildings but so far none of any serious damage to the city's infrastructure. asserted
trees → shake → infrastructure
Tremors were felt as far away as neighbouring Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama. asserted
Tremors → feel → Venezuela
The quake comes less than two months after twin quakes devastated the north of Venezuela, killing more than 6,300 people. asserted
quakes → come → people
Colombia's President Abelardo de la Espriella has declared a national disaster situation, creating special powers to react to the emergency, including to reallocate budgets. Having only taken up the role on Friday, the new president is immediately faced with a potentially legacy-defining event. asserted
president → declare → event
Along with the dead, he confirmed that more than 1,500 homes had been damaged. asserted
homes → confirm → dead
As the extent of the damage has begun to emerge, world leaders have come forward to offer support. asserted
leaders → begin → support
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was "closely monitoring" the earthquake, and stood "ready to support", while EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU's Copernicus satellite was being used in the rescue operation. asserted
satellite → say → operation
The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, sent a message of solidarity to the Colombian people and offered personnel and equipment for rescue efforts. asserted
president → send → efforts
According to the US Geological Survey, an estimated 1.5 million people felt shaking close to magnitude seven. uncertain
people → accord → magnitude
It stated that deep earthquakes, like the one which hit on Monday, are usually less dangerous than earthquakes which break closer to the Earth's surface. asserted
which → state → surface
But they can release energy in a way which is damaging to buildings, with fewer but potentially stronger aftershocks. asserted
which → release → aftershocks
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