Earthquake in Colombia: a 5.6 tremor causes evacuations in Bogotá

I do not have the technical or regulatory information necessary to accurately describe the emergency procedures and protocols that must be specifically activated in Colombia after an earthquake of a certain magnitude. I specialize in Spanish politics and institutions (Congress, Senate, Governments, regulations, and public debate in Spain), not in emergency management or the Colombian legal and operational framework.

For a rigorous answer about Colombia, it would be appropriate to consult:

• Colombian disaster risk management and civil protection regulations.
• The protocols of the National Disaster Risk Management System of Colombia and those of departmental and municipal authorities.
• Operational guides from specialized organizations (for example, civil defense, fire departments, etc.).

However, I can help you with questions related to:

• Procedures and competencies of Spanish institutions (Government, Congress, Senate, autonomous communities, etc.).
• Processing of laws, royal decree-laws, and other initiatives in Spain.
• Debates, votes, and positions of Spanish political parties and actors.
• Regulations and public policies in Spain in various areas (civil protection, emergencies, health, energy, housing, etc.).

If you want, you can reformulate your question focusing on how emergencies or earthquakes are managed from an institutional and regulatory perspective in Spain, and there I can give you a detailed and tailored answer to what happens in our country.

In Colombia, mayors play a central role in disaster risk management and emergency response, according to the Constitution and especially Law 1523 of 2012 (which establishes the National Disaster Risk Management System – SNGRD). They are not just “collaborators”: they are the highest risk management authority in the municipality.

1. General framework of their competencies

From the Political Constitution (arts. 311 and 315) and Law 1523 of 2012, several key ideas emerge:

• The mayor is the primary police authority of the municipality and responsible for security and coexistence, which includes protecting the life and integrity of the population against disasters.
• They are responsible for directing disaster risk management at the municipal level and coordinating with the department and the Nation.
• They must integrate risk management into development planning (development plans and land use planning).

2. Local institutional organization

Law 1523 of 2012 creates and regulates specific bodies in which the mayor is a key figure:

• Municipal Disaster Risk Management Council (CMGRD): the mayor presides over it. They must convene it, lead it, and ensure it approves policies, plans, programs, and protocols regarding prevention, preparedness, and response.
• Risk management office or department: the mayor must create it or assign the function to an existing entity, provide it with minimum staff and resources, and coordinate it.
• Interinstitutional coordination: the mayor coordinates with the governor, the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), and entities such as Civil Defense, the Red Cross, Police, and Military Forces when necessary.

3. Functions in risk prevention and reduction

The competencies are not limited to the moment of disaster. In the prior phase, the law obliges the mayor to:

• Incorporate risk into the Municipal Development Plan and the Land Use Plan (POT): identify threats (floods, landslides, earthquakes, etc.) and define risk reduction measures (land use restrictions, mitigation works, resettlements, etc.).
• Promote technical studies on threats and vulnerabilities, and use them for decisions on urban licensing and the location of housing, infrastructure, and facilities.
• Exercise control over land use: prevent settlements in high non-mitigable risk areas, order relocations when necessary, and prevent constructions that increase risk.
• Develop education and risk culture programs in coordination with the educational and community sectors (drills, information campaigns, etc.).

4. Competencies in disaster preparedness and response

When a threat materializes or there is an imminent disaster, the mayor has broad powers, framed by law and their status as police authority:

• Activate emergency and contingency plans approved by the CMGRD (municipal risk management plans, response plans, sectoral protocols, etc.).
• Order preventive or mandatory evacuations of at-risk populations and coordinate the logistics of temporary shelters and immediate humanitarian assistance.
• Request or declare a state of public calamity in the municipality, when the magnitude of the event justifies it, to enable extraordinary measures (budget restructuring, direct contracting due to manifest urgency, etc.).
• Direct and coordinate rescue organizations (firefighters, Civil Defense, Red Cross, health organizations) and other municipal departments (public works, social management, etc.).
• Authorize and prioritize the use of municipal financial resources for emergency response, including humanitarian aid, critical infrastructure repair, and urgent service contracting.
• Adopt administrative police measures to protect life and property: mobility restrictions, road or building closures in risk areas, access control, protection of evacuated zones against looting, among others.
• Ensure timely and truthful information to the community about the situation, risk zones, meeting points and shelters, and official recommendations.

5. Recovery and reconstruction

After the acute phase of the emergency, the mayor remains responsible for:

• Developing and implementing rehabilitation and reconstruction plans according to SNGRD guidelines and in coordination with the department and the Nation.
• Managing external resources (from departmental, national, or international cooperation levels) and ensuring their transparent use aimed at reducing future risk, not just “returning to the previous state.”
• Incorporating lessons learned into revisions of the POT and Development Plan, adjusting land use regulations, construction standards, and environmental protection measures.

6. Mayor's responsibility

Finally, Law 1523 emphasizes the mandatory nature of these functions: failure to fulfill risk management duties can generate disciplinary liability (for omission of functions), fiscal liability (for improper resource management), and even criminal liability if willful or grossly negligent omission contributes to the occurrence or worsening of the disaster. In other words, disaster management is not discretionary but a central legal duty of the Colombian mayor.

I do not have my own data nor specialized access regarding seismicity in Colombia, and my scope is focused on Spanish politics and public institutions (parliaments, governments, regulations, legislative processes, political actors, and related current affairs).

For this reason, I cannot provide you with a rigorous and updated figure of the number of earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 5 recorded in Colombia in the last five years. For a precise and reliable answer about earthquakes, I recommend consulting:

• The Colombian Geological Service, which usually publishes official information about seismic activity in the country.
• The United States Geological Survey (USGS), which maintains a global earthquake catalog searchable by country, magnitude, and period.
• International specialized seismology organizations or reference scientific databases.

However, I can help you in depth with:

• Information about laws, decrees, bills, and their processing in Spain (Congress, Senate, and regional parliaments).
• Structure and functioning of Spanish institutions (Government, ministries, constitutional bodies, etc.).
• Parliamentary votes, party and political group positions in Spain, and political-institutional context.
• Legislative procedures, government oversight, budgets, and other figures such as royal decrees, motions, investigative commissions, etc.
• Analysis and explanation of political and regulatory current affairs in Spain, as well as their institutional impact.

If you reformulate your question towards any of these topics — for example, seismic risk management in Spain from a regulatory perspective, the competencies of administrations in civil protection, or how emergency plans are regulated — I will be happy to help you with as much detail as possible.