Colombia earthquake death toll rises to 243
At least 243 people have been killed and 2,595 others injured following the earthquake in Colombia. Another 195 people are officially listed as missing as rescue operations continue.
The magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Monday morning with its epicenter between the departments of Choco and Valle del Cauca, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It occurred at a depth of 110 kilometers (68 miles).
The death toll includes 95 people in the city of Cali and 31 elsewhere in Valle del Cauca department, according to a BNO News count of reports from local governments and media outlets. Another 96 people were killed in Risaralda, which includes the city of Pereira, while 14 died in Choco, six in Caldas and one in Antioquia.
The number of missing is expected to rise as rescuers search collapsed buildings across the region. Local media reports indicate that the true number may be in the hundreds.
President Abelardo de la Espriella has declared a state of emergency, while several affected cities have declared states of calamity and imposed curfews.
Thousands of homes were destroyed or damaged, along with hundreds of hospitals, government buildings, schools and places of worship. Damage was reported across Risaralda, Valle del Cauca, Choco, Quindio, Caldas and Antioquia, as well as in the major cities of Bogota and Medellin.
The USGS said the earthquake produced stronger shaking than average for its magnitude and location. More than 6 million people were exposed to intensity 7 to 8 shaking, ranging from very strong to severe, with Pereira, Manizales and Armenia among the cities that experienced severe shaking.
The USGS assigned equal probabilities to death toll ranges of 100 to 1,000 and 1,000 to 10,000. It estimated economic losses of between $1 billion and $10 billion, equivalent to as much as 7 percent of Colombia’s GDP.
Shaking was also felt in Panama, Ecuador and Venezuela. Strong aftershocks remain possible and could pose a continuing danger during rescue operations.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
