Colombia declares three days of national mourning after deadly earthquake

Colombia has declared three days of national mourning following a devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 265 people and left hundreds missing.

The mourning began in honour of those killed in Monday’s earthquake, while rescue teams continued searching for 496 people still reported missing. At least 3,494 people were injured.

President Abelardo de la Espriella said national flags would be flown at half-mast at government buildings and diplomatic missions throughout the mourning period.

The earthquake struck near San José del Palmar in Chocó province at 7:34am local time on Monday. Its epicentre was about 107 kilometres underground. It is considered the deadliest earthquake to hit Colombia this century.

Rescue teams are working around the clock in major cities including Pereira and Cali, using heavy equipment, sniffer dogs and human chains to search damaged buildings.

“We are now focusing most of our efforts on finding those who remain missing,” President de la Espriella said.

According to a report by Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), 9,215 homes were completely destroyed and another 45,457 were damaged. The scale of the destruction prompted the government to declare a national disaster.

UNGRD Director David Santiago Tamayo said the government would prioritise technical rescue teams from four partner countries�"the United States, Israel, Ecuador and El Salvador�"citing operational standards.

Former Colombian president Gustavo Petro criticised the policy, saying on X that using ideological criteria in international humanitarian assistance was a major mistake.

Government officials, however, said Colombia had not formally rejected assistance from any country.

Amid the debate, Mexico’s civilian volunteer rescue group Brigada Internacional de Rescate Topos Azteca arrived in Cali on Wednesday to join the search and rescue efforts.

Rural areas close to the earthquake’s epicentre were among the worst affected. In El Cairo, Valle del Cauca, local emergency services reported that around 80 percent of infrastructure had been damaged, while nearly 10 percent of buildings had completely collapsed.

SKS