On social media, the president expressed sorrow for the deaths, injuries, and damage caused by the seismic event, which had its epicenter in the Choco department in the country’s northwest.

Due to the emergency, the Colombian government declared a state of national disaster.

This decision followed a meeting of the National Disaster Management Committee, during which the president ordered cabinet members to coordinate strategies for the areas suffering the most damage.

It was also announced that the president would travel to Pereira; Interior Minister Rodrigo Lara to the Coffee Axis; the Ministers of Health and Defense to Chocó; and the Minister of Transport, Elsa Noguera, would remain in Cali.

According to the Colombian Association of Capital Cities, the death toll has reached 71 so far: 40 in Risaralda, 27 in Valle del Cauca, and four in Chocó. Of these, 29 deaths occurred in capital cities.

The organization noted that Pereira, Cali, Manizales, Quibdo, and Armenia are facing the most critical situations among the capital cities, with reports of deaths, injuries, and people trapped, as well as structural collapses and damage to hospital infrastructure, airports, public utilities, and transport systems.

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