Dozens killed after powerful earthquake strikes Colombia and Ecuador

Add NBC News to Google Watch: Videos capture the moment a 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes Colombia Get more newsLiveon Add NBC News to Google Aug. 10, 2026, AM EDT / Updated Aug. 11, 2026, AM EDT , Maya Rosenberg, George Solis and Dennis Romero At least 132 people were killed Monday in a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that shook western Colombia, collapsing hospitals, schools and other buildings and leaving people trapped under the rubble. The worst-hit cities include Pereira, Cali, Quibdó, Manizales and Armenia, all of which remain under “red alert,” the nation’s highest-level disaster threat level, according to Colombia’s nonprofit Association of Capital Cities, which provided the death toll. Seven airports have suspended operations, and hospitals, roads, transportation, aqueducts, energy and telecommunications have been disrupted in the areas hardest hit, it said. Colombia’s newly inaugurated president, Abelardo De La Espriella, said in a national briefing that 700 people were injured in the temblor and an estimated 5,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Earlier in the day, he declared a national disaster to allow for the mobilization and coordination of emergency efforts. Speaking from the Unified Command Center he had ordered into existence earlier in the day, De La Espriella said 188 people were missing, three hospitals had collapsed, and 18 other hospitals had been affected. Thirty-nine schools were also affected, he said. Elected officials have reported people trapped inside collapsed buildings and serious structural damage throughout the quake-hit region. The quake’s epicenter was reported in the municipality of San José del Palmar in the department ​of Chocó. Colombia’s Geological Service said it was the country’s strongest earthquake this century, Reuters reported. In Valle del Cauca, about 254 miles south of Chocó, Gov. Dilian Francisca Toro said “the situation is serious.” She reported the deaths of 27 people across Valle del Cauca, including three children. Speaking from the University Hospital of the Valley, Toro said the facility suffered “structural collapses” and that rescue and evacuation operations were completed Monday. Video from the location verified . At least one medical professional was shown holding a baby in her arms. Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Curi said on social media that injuries and serious damage to buildings had been reported in the capital city of Quibdó, about 188 miles northwest of the reported epicenter. “We are already conducting a damage assessment to issue the first official report,” Córdoba-Curi wrote on X in Spanish. As of Monday night, Córdoba-Curi reported 13 deaths in Chocó. Earlier, she said 84 people had been injured.