7.4-Magnitude Earthquake in Colombia Kills at Least 69

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia today (Monday), killing at least 69 people and causing serious damage to buildings in the region.

Local officials confirmed that at least 40 people were killed in the department of Risaralda, where the hard-hit city of Pereira is located...

And 27 people in the Valle del Cauca department, where Colombia's third-biggest city, Cali, is located.

In Manizales, two people were killed, Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said in an interview with BLU Radio.

The epicenter was in San Jose del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Choco region about 250 miles west of Bogota, the U.S. Geological Survey and Colombia's counterpart reported.

The USGS said it struck at a depth of 66 miles.

The quake also was felt in neighboring Ecuador.

Choco Governor Nubia Córdoba said on social media that "there are injuries and serious damage to buildings" in the regional capital of Quibdó, a city of about 130,000 people.

She didn't provide further details.

Video showed homes and small buildings collapsing in the cities of Pereira, Cali and Quibdo.

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said in a post on X that he will personally supervise recovery efforts and install an emergency center in San Jose del Palmar.

The temblor follows two back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes in Venezuela in late June.

Those earthquakes destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed more than 5,000 people.