On 10 August 2026, a Mw 7.4–7.5 earthquake struck the department of Chocó in Colombia, killing at least 335 people, injuring more than 4,600 others, leaving 111 confirmed missing and causing extensive damage across the country. The earthquake was felt across much of western and central Colombia and in parts of neighbouring Ecuador and Panama, and caused extensive damage in Cali, Pereira, Quibdó, Manizales, Armenia, Buenaventura, and other areas.
The Colombian government declared a national emergency and launched search and rescue operations in affected areas.
Tectonic setting
The coastal parts of Ecuador and southern Colombia lie above the convergent boundary where the Malpelo plate subducts beneath the South American plate along the Colombia–Ecuador Trench. At this location the Malpelo plate, the microplate northeast of the Nazca plate, is moving to the east relative to South America at a rate of 58 mm (2.3 in) per year. North of the Carnegie Ridge, the subduction interface has four recognisable segments, from south to north, the Esmeraldas, Manglares, Tumaco and Patia segments. This plate boundary has been the location of several great historical earthquakes, most associated with damaging tsunamis. In 1906, a 500–600 km (310–370 mi) long segment of the plate interface ruptured, causing a magnitude 8.8 earthquake (rupturing all four segments) and a trans-Pacific tsunami.
Earthquakes at depths of approximately 70 to 300 km (43 to 186 mi) are conventionally classified as intermediate-depth earthquakes. In most subduction zones, they occur within descending oceanic slabs rather than on the shallower plate interface. In southern Colombia's Cauca region, however, an unusual subset occurs at depths of approximately 80 to 160 km (50 to 99 mi) within the mantle wedge above the subducting Nazca slab; the broader cluster also includes intraslab earthquakes. The Cauca earthquake cluster occupies approximately 4°30′N 76°09′W / 4.5°N 76.15°W.
Intermediate-depth earthquakes are normally uncommon in the mantle above a subducting slab because the mantle there is generally too hot to sustain earthquake-producing failure. Thermo-petrologic models indicate that, along the northern transect through the Cauca cluster, the maximum depth of decoupling is anomalously deep and reaches the down-dip end of the subducted Panamá–Chocó terrane at approximately 180 km (110 mi) depth. The model predicts temperatures below approximately 600 to 700 °C (1,112 to 1,292 °F) in the region of the supra-slab earthquakes, consistent with the occurrence of seismic failure there.
Beneath the Cordillera Oriental and Cordillera Central, and between latitudes 4°N and 6°N, subducted oceanic crust of the Nazca plate is sheared along an east-southeast trending slab tear zone. This zone also marks the boundary between two distinct slab geometries; to the north, the slab exhibits flat slab subduction. This slab north of the tear may represent remnants of the Caribbean plate or Coiba microplate.
Earthquake
The earthquake measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale and struck at a depth of 108.2 km (67.2 mi) according to the United States Geological Survey. The Colombian Geological Survey (CGS) put the earthquake at the same magnitude and reported a depth of 96 km (60 mi). The Global Centroid Moment Tensor (GCMT) assigned the earthquake a moment magnitude of Mw 7.5. It had an epicenter 20 km (12 mi) from San José del Palmar in the department of Chocó and struck at 07:34 COT. It was caused by strike-slip faulting at an intermediate depth along either a northeast trending left-lateral or northwest trending right-lateral fault. The earthquake represented a rupture within the subducting Nazca plate as it subducts eastwards beneath South America along the Ecuador–Colombia trench.
The CGS said it was the strongest earthquake in the country in the last decade, and the largest since the 1979 Tumaco earthquake. It was followed by more than 100 aftershocks, the largest of which, having a magnitude of mb 5.0, struck at 08:18 COT. A peak ground acceleration of 0.426987 g in the east-west vector was recorded at a seismic observatory in Jamundí, about 202 km (126 mi) south of the epicenter or 227 km (141 mi) from the hypocenter. At Manizales, 86 km (53 mi) east of the epicenter, the east-west component of acceleration was 0.2886 g. Shaking was felt in 32 of Colombia's departmental capitals, forcing evacuations. It was estimated to have lasted for around two minutes and was also felt in Panama, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
The immediate epicenter area was also the epicenter area of a 108 km (67 mi) deep Mw 7.2 earthquake on 23 November 1979, which was caused by oblique-normal faulting. The 1979 event had a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of VII–VIII (Very strong–Severe) assigned to a large area including the cities of Pereira, Armenia and Manizales. The shock was also felt with intensity VI (Strong) in Cali, Ibagué, Quibdó and Medellín, and V (Moderate) in Bogotá.
Impact
Local officials reported at least 335 people died, 4,611 were injured, and 111 people remained missing. It was the deadliest earthquake in the country since 1999, when a magnitude 6.1 event affected Armenia and Pereira. There were 184 deaths in Valle del Cauca, 108 in Risaralda, 14 in Chocó, 6 in Caldas, 3 in Quindío, 2 in Cauca and 1 in Antioquia. More than 97% of the fatalities came from departmental capitals. One of the fatalities was a Chilean child. According to Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares, 1 Colombian–Spanish citizen died and 12 Spanish citizens were missing. Damage was reported at more than 10 airports, including in Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura. The Colombian Civil Aviation Authority said flights were suspended at these airports. More than 466,700 people were affected across the country.
Due to the intermediate depth of the earthquake, the damage was widespread and across a large area. Twelve departments were directly affected by the earthquake. The Puracé volcano in Cauca emitted fumes after the earthquake, although the CGS said it was not related to the earthquake. Across the country, at least 206,931 homes were damaged, 36,478 others were destroyed, and 743 buildings collapsed with 6,005 more damaged. Damage also occurred to 521 roads, 397 healthcare centers, 4,316 educational institutions, 120 bridges, 141 aqueducts and 6,118 community centers. The Colombian government placed initial economic damages at 30 trillion pesos (US$9.6 billion) Oxford Economics projected direct economic damages ranging from US$990 million to US$1.98 billion, equivalent to 0.2% to 0.4% of Colombia's GDP, while the USGS put the toll at near US$40 billion, or 7% of GDP. The United Nations Development Programme and the National Unit for Risk and Disaster Management (UNGRD) estimated direct physical damage at 42.1 trillion pesos (US$13.4 billion), equivalent to 2.3% of Colombia’s GDP.
Six people were killed in Caldas Department. In Palestina, one person was injured by a collapsed wall, eight homes collapsed and 100 others were damaged. Four schools, four churches, two hospitals, a police station, a sports center, the House of Culture and two cemeteries were also affected. Five people died, 36 structures collapsed and several churches were damaged in Manizales. One of the towers of the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary collapsed into the nave. A four-story building partially collapsed in the city. In Armenia, three deaths occurred, 174 people were injured, five buildings collapsed, and 240 homes and 40 buildings were damaged, including the control tower and the runway of El Edén International Airport. Across Quindío Department, 334 people were injured, and more than 10,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. At least 107 people were killed in Pereira, including three at Matecaña International Airport, which partially collapsed. In the city, at least 65 buildings collapsed, including 15 in which people were trapped in the immediate aftermath. Some people were also trapped inside the city's cable cars.
In the department of Chocó, where the epicenter was located, at least 14 deaths and 119 injuries were recorded. Twelve people were killed, 36 were injured and 42 structures collapsed in Quibdó. Nubia Carolina Córdoba, the governor of Chocó, said several municipalities were severely impacted, while preliminary reports described damages in Quibdó as well as the Alto and Bajo Baudó regions as "monstrous." In the epicentral town, San José del Palmar, 42 houses collapsed and 580 others were damaged. Road infrastructures leading to the town were heavily damaged or buried under landslides, and telecommunication services were disabled. Several people were killed and 70 were injured in Istmina. Its mayor, Jaison Mosquera Sánchez, said the earthquake damaged more than 550 homes and affected 3,000 people. Sánchez also said that all school buildings and the city hall were affected. In Sipí, a local leader also said only four or five of the town's 65 homes remained intact.
In Valle del Cauca Department, at least 184 people died, and about 5,000 homes were destroyed. About 80% of homes were reportedly destroyed in El Cairo. Severe infrastructural damage was also recorded in the towns of Riofrío and Vijes. In Cali, 153 people died and 1,500 were injured. More than 5,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the city, 40 of which collapsed. Eighteen hospitals were also damaged. Several buildings in El Lido, Alameda, Tequendama, Nueva Tequendama, Cámbulos, Cuarto de Legua, El Refugio, Pampalinda, El Limonar, Capri, and Caldas neighborhoods experienced a complete collapse. Heavy damage was also reported at the nearby University Hospital of Valle. Due to a section of the hospital's upper floors collapsing, more than 600 patients at that hospital were evacuated and treated in the open. The Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero was also damaged. Along the Cali-Buenaventura highway, 15 vehicles were stranded inside a tunnel after rockslides blocked the exit leading to Cali. Nine people also died in Buenaventura. In Calima, four children were killed while 30 others were injured after the Gimnasio Calima school partially collapsed. The basilica of Our Lord of the Miracles of Buga sustained cracks across its central dome.
The earthquake was felt strongly in Bogotá, where people evacuated from buildings. Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said some buildings were cracked but there were no reports of severe damage. More than 464 reports of cracks and fissures and other damage to buildings were received in the city. In the department of Cundinamarca, there were two reports of building damage, including structural damage to a school in Nilo. In Antioquia, one person was killed by a rockfall in Támesis. More than 350 homes, 61 schools, 29 churches and 7 hospitals were damaged in the department. Caved-in roofs and fractured walls were reported in towns on the outskirts of Medellín. The interior of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Jardín was damaged, while several religious images were destroyed.
Evacuations were also ordered in several buildings across Panama following the shaking. Panama City's rapid transit Panama Metro temporarily suspended service on Lines 1 and 2. It returned to normal operations after structural inspections confirmed no risks. Slight structural damage was observed in a health center in Montijo and at several buildings in Panama Oeste Province. The Fire Department attended to two people who suffered anxiety attacks in Chitré. In Ecuador, six homes were damaged in Carchi and Esmeraldas provinces and masonry fell from a building in Guayas Province.