Bogota, August 14, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The death toll from Monday’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Colombia has risen to 273, while nearly 98,000 people have been affected by the disaster, David Tamayo, director of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, said on Friday.
Tamayo said 40,753 families, comprising 97,515 people, had been affected by the earthquake. Of the 273 fatalities, 250 bodies had reached the Institute of Legal Medicine, 227 had been identified and 189 had been handed over to their families.
The earthquake also left 3,824 people injured and 377 others missing.
The disaster caused extensive damage to infrastructure across the affected areas. According to Tamayo, 12,584 homes were destroyed and another 74,873 damaged. A total of 172 buildings collapsed, while 2,198 schools and educational institutions, 825 community centres, 216 health facilities and five airports were affected.
Authorities are using satellite technology and high-resolution imagery to assess the scale of the destruction. Search and rescue teams, assisted by sniffer dogs, continued operations on the ground to locate people who remain trapped or missing beneath the rubble.
The Colombian Geological Service reported another 4.2-magnitude tremor at 9:42 a.m. local time on Thursday in San Jose del Palmar, in the northwestern department of Choco, which was also the epicentre of Monday’s earthquake.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and partner organisations are supporting the government-led relief operation. Humanitarian assessments are continuing, particularly in the worst-hit areas, where damaged communications, transportation and public services are complicating relief efforts.
Emergency shelter, food, safe drinking water and healthcare remain among the immediate priorities for affected communities.
The UN and its humanitarian partners are also mobilising supplies. The World Food Programme is providing food assistance, while the World Health Organization is dispatching medical supplies from warehouses in Colombia.
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