Colombia continues to mourn as the death toll from a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit on Monday has risen to 181. The tremor has been followed by 47 aftershocks.
Meanwhile, Argentina and other countries in the region have expressed solidarity and offered assistance to the new government led by President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office on Friday.
The latest casualty figure comes from a preliminary assessment by the Colombian Association of Capital Cities (Asocapitales, by its Spanish acronym), which said that almost all of the reported victims lived in Colombia’s departmental capitals.
The cities hardest hit in terms of destruction and fatalities so far are Cali, with 85 deaths, and Pereira, with 66. Quibdó and Manizales are also among the areas affected, with nine and five reported deaths, respectively.
According to Asocapitales, at least 1,300 people have been injured and 165 buildings have collapsed in capital cities as of Tuesday morning. Search-and-rescue operations and damage assessments are ongoing.
During the early hours of Tuesday, firefighters from Bogotá taking part in search-and-rescue operations in Cali successfully rescued a 35-year-old man from the rubble of a collapsed building.
¡Encontramos vida bajo los escombros!
A las 3:57 a. m., se realizó con éxito la maniobra de extracción de Carlos Esteban Rebolledo, de 35 años, quien se encontraba atrapado en una edificación.
¡Cada minuto cuenta! pic.twitter.com/0UeJyJjVep
— Bomberos Oficiales de Bogotá (@BomberosBogota) August 11, 2026
Local media reported that calls for help could be heard from beneath the rubble in some of the hardest-hit cities.
Colombian news outlet La República said at least 180 people are missing in Cali and 11 in Pereira, where 53 people are currently trapped in collapsed buildings.
El Espectador, another Colombian outlet, published a form for reporting missing people, along with a section of its website listing their names and photos. So far, 246 people from different cities have been reported missing on the site.
Four children also died following the collapse of their school in northern Cali.
On Monday, Colombian President De la Espriella — who took office less than 72 hours before the earthquake — declared a state of national disaster. The measure allows him to take exceptional steps, including rapidly deploying resources and funds, coordinating with local administrations, and advancing emergency operations in critical areas.
International help
Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and other Latin American countries have offered Colombia assistance, including medical supplies and search-and-rescue teams.
Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno offered his condolences to the victims’ families and said his office was in contact with the Colombian government.
Argentina, he said, had offered Colombia “any assistance that may be necessary.” He added that there were no reported Argentine victims.
Expresamos nuestra solidaridad con el pueblo y el Gobierno de Colombia ante el terremoto ocurrido hoy, y hacemos llegar nuestras condolencias a las familias de las víctimas y nuestra solidaridad a todos los afectados.
Nos encontramos en contacto con las autoridades colombianas,…
— Pablo Quirno (@pabloquirno) August 10, 2026
The United States government announced that it would send an aid package worth US$15.5 million to assist Colombia.
“The Trump Administration is closely monitoring the large earthquake that struck Colombia and stands ready to support the people of Colombia and President Abelardo de la Espriella’s administration,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X on Monday.
The Colombian Foreign Ministry thanked the international community for its support and said it would coordinate the reception of international assistance with the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management.
This is the second time the northern region of South America has been hit by tragedy in less than two months, following the June 24 earthquakes that left a toll of 6,301 victims in Venezuela.
