A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia on Monday, August 10, killing more than 100 people so far. The government immediately declared a "national disaster" and President Abelardo de la Espriella announced the creation of a Unified Command Post to manage the crisis.
The municipality of San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, was the epicenter of the quake. Colombian media reports say the town suffered severe structural damage that has put its general infrastructure at risk.
In nearby Quibdó, the capital of Chocó, several buildings were also reported in critical condition, with a number of people injured.
The Chocó region recorded four deaths, while 27 were counted in the department of Valle del Cauca. For now, Risaralda has the highest death toll from the disaster, with 40 fatalities, according to figures from the Colombian Association of Capital Cities.
Concern and Government Response
Nelson Matta, a journalist with the newspaper El Colombiano, told El Comercio that concern among citizens has persisted but has shifted in nature, with the population moving from "initial panic" to an expectant mood about the state's response to the crisis. He said attention is now largely focused on rescue operations.
Matta explained that although Colombia has a culture of earthquake preparedness, Monday's quake caught much of the population off guard because it was the strongest recorded in the country in a decade.
He said the situation had been evolving since 7:30 a.m., when there were many moments of panic, and that the country was now in the phase of rescuing people trapped under collapsed structures. He added that some people still feel afraid because malicious messages had begun circulating on social media and WhatsApp warning of further aftershocks, when in fact only two minor aftershocks occurred and caused no additional damage.
Around midday local time, the Colombian president told local media that the earthquake had damaged 1,500 houses, of which almost 40 were completely destroyed.
León Fabio Marín, the mayor of San José del Palmar, told Radio Caracol that at least a dozen buildings in the municipality had collapsed and that more than 500 homes had suffered significant damage.
A Shift in Priorities for a New Government
The earthquake struck Colombia just three days after the formal start of Abelardo de la Espriella's government. Matta said public perception of the new administration's handling of the disaster is one of "total expectation."
Colombian political analyst and adviser Jorge Andrés Rico said the quake hit during what has been "a very turbulent week for Colombia," after the new administration began with offensive actions against organized armed groups, in line with de la Espriella's campaign rhetoric.
Rico said the earthquake crisis has forced a drastic shift in priorities for the government, which must now direct its full effort toward attending to citizens. He noted that de la Espriella responded immediately, not only through public messages but also by setting up unified assistance points across the disaster zones.
According to Rico, the initial general reaction was one of fear and distrust, since events like this earthquake, while not unheard of in Colombia, are infrequent. He said there is a perception that the government has acted swiftly, focusing not only on material damage control but also on combating the disinformation that has been circulating.
Rico said institutions at the municipal, regional and national levels are carrying out constant monitoring, partly because aftershocks can follow such an event and because the spread of fear itself causes serious harm. He said the governor's office, the mayor's office and the national government are working to stop WhatsApp and social media chains and to rely instead on official information.
Rico also said Colombia has received "massive" international support that has strengthened the government's response capacity. He said international organizations have already joined the relief effort, allowing aid to reach urban areas quickly, while rural areas of Chocó remain far more difficult to reach because of ongoing violence, longstanding problems and the legacy of the previous government's actions.
Criticism of the Previous Government
While views of de la Espriella's response have so far been largely positive, Matta said perception of the outgoing administration is far more negative because of the misuse of disaster-prevention funds under President Gustavo Petro's government.
Matta said one of the biggest corruption scandals of Petro's government took place inside the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD), the state agency responsible for handling situations like this earthquake.
He was referring to the so-called "La Guajira water tanker" case, which broke in February 2024, when overcharges and irregular contracts were reported for equipment meant to bring drinking water to vulnerable communities in the La Guajira department. The purchases totaled 46.8 billion pesos, around $14.8 million, and the vehicles bought sat unused for months.
Testimony from Olmedo López and Sneyder Pinilla, two of the UNGRD's top officials, indicated that the agency's funds were used for political dealmaking and to buy votes in Congress. Those implicated included Iván Name, president of the Senate, and Andrés Calle, president of the House of Representatives.
Matta said prosecutors' files, involving around 30 people, have shown that the agency's resources were used to bribe members of Congress to approve reforms sought by Petro's government, which he said explains the very negative view of the outgoing administration.
Politicization and Solidarity
Both Rico and Matta agreed that some sectors, particularly in the opposition, have tried to politicize the disaster amid the polarization left by the recent presidential election.
Rico said certain political sectors had gone out to politicize the event, which he called wrongheaded and something the public is rejecting. He said social media messages trying to link the earthquake to political narratives are fueling radicalization among a segment of public opinion that is not merely polarized but outright radicalized.
Despite this, both analysts said the majority reaction among Colombians has been mobilization and solidarity in the face of the tragedy.
Matta said Colombia is, unfortunately, a country accustomed to tragedy, both from natural disasters and from armed conflict and violence, which has made the institutions responsible for responding to such events mobilize very quickly. He said enough aid has already reached the main affected cities, though some municipalities farther from urban centers remain largely unreported on and will take longer to receive help. Overall, he said, there is strong national solidarity behind mobilizing aid.
