More than 70 people have lost their lives this Monday as a result of a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.4 on the Richter scale, whose epicenter has been located near the town of San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, in the northwest area of Colombia.
The governor of Valle del Cauca, Dilian Francisca Toro, has confirmed the death of 27 people, including at least three minors, although she has clarified that this is an initial balance that does not yet include data from the regional capital, Cali.
In addition, she has detailed that in the town of El Águila a hospital has collapsed, leaving at least five people trapped, three adults and two children, while in the city of El Cairo damage has been recorded in "about" 80% of the buildings.
On the other hand, the governor of Risaralda has raised the number of dead to 40 only in its capital, Pereira, and in two nearby municipalities, as a result of a quake that has impacted around nine departments of the country.
In the municipality of Manizales, belonging to the department of Caldas, two fatalities have been counted so far, according to a video shared on social media by its mayor, Jorge Eduardo Rojas, who has also reported more than twelve properties partially or totally destroyed and more than 20 homes completely collapsed.
To these figures are added another four deceased and 69 injured in the department of Chocó, as indicated on social media by its governor, Nubia Córdoba, who has not yet provided a balance of the material damages.
The epicenter of the tremor, recorded around 7:34 a.m. (local time), was located five kilometers east of San José del Palmar and at a depth of 107 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in its preliminary report.