Colombia Quake Kills 181, Thousands Displaced

Synopsis

At least 181 people have died and more than 2,500 wounded in western Colombia after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit the area on August 10, and rescue efforts into a third day come as early and severe test of the newly inaugurated Colombian president's crisis management abilities.

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The earthquake and its impact

At least 181 people lost their lives in the earthquake and 2,595 were injured, Colombian authorities said, but at least 195 people were missing, though civilian-run databases indicated more at 4,000.

More than 70 aftershocks have been felt in the country since the initial tremor, which President Abelardo de la Espriella confirmed on Tuesday at the Geological Service's meeting. The most heavily impacted cities are under the highest level of disaster alert in the country: Cali, Pereira, Quibdó, Manizales and Armenia.

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There were several early estimates of the death toll, some of which reached more than 250, as the tragedy unfolded, but the current death toll of 181, which comes from official presidential quotes, is the latest officially verified figure as the toll was being verified.

Scenes From the Rubble

In Pereira, mayor Mauricio Salazar said there were 18 dead in his city alone, while Mayor Alejandro Eder in Cali stated there were at least 20 buildings in his city that "were collapsed and trapped people were inside.

A week-long festival celebrating Afro-Pacific culture was in full swing in Cali, in the heart of the city, when the tremor hit, adding to the difficulties of the rescue.

Medical evacuations in Cali have evacuated patients from a damaged clinic to a temporary clinic in a school gymnasium. The search and recovery effort has been interrupted by dramatic rescues, such as a baby being extricated from the ruins of a collapsed apartment building in Cali and a woman being rescued alive more than 29 hours into the earthquake.

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Another fire at a jail that killed at least four inmates and injured two others in Valle del Cauca, near the city of Buenaventura, near Cali, was also sparked by the quake, said Valle del Cauca Governor Dilian Francisca Toro.

A Government under Pressure

The disaster has challenged the new Colombian President, Abelardo de la Espriella, and his government to move quickly to deal with the natural disaster and to civil society groups demanding that aid be delivered to the most vulnerable communities.

Interestingly, de la Espriella had been appointed just days before the earthquake occurred and was quick to convene an emergency committee that would "personally guide the operation to release the victims from the debris.

The president has also declared relief measures for the most severely affected area: he ordered a three-month economic relief period for those in the coffee-growing area of Risaralda, from its capital Pereira, "It broke my heart, walking through the city center and seeing all these businesses are destroyed.

Compounding an Existing Crisis

In several regions the official had to deal with pre-existing situations of acute poverty and longstanding civil conflict already driving people apart. “This earthquake exacerbates an already dire humanitarian situation and there is a need to expand assistance in the humanitarian response,” said Giovanni Rizzo, the director of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Colombia.

OCHA, the United Nations humanitarian office, separately has estimated that there were 5,000 damaged homes in the disaster. Over 2,700 people are reported missing in the wake of the quake in Colombia, as locals scramble to find survivors.

Human Testimony

There has been a loss of communication networks in the immediate aftermath with scenes of the chaos described by residents. A social media user from Pereira, who was live on video when the tremor hit, filmed people "injured, bleeding, screaming and attempting to contact their families" but there was no communication signal.

The Road to Recovery

The country's disaster response has now turned to longer-term reconstruction, mental health care for survivors under the rubble and rebuilding trust in the utilisation of disaster infrastructure, a challenge that is likely to define the first few months of the de la Espriella administration, as five capital cities remain under red alert status and search operations move against the critical deadline of rescuing survivors alive under the rubble.