How long did the earthquake in Colombia last? The SGC estimates the movement between 90 seconds and two minutes.

The available information does not allow specifying the exact current status of seismic-resistant regulations in Colombia nor which specific legislative processes are underway for their update. Additionally, my specialization is focused on the regulatory and political context of Spain, so I do not have systematic and detailed monitoring of regulatory processing in other countries, including Colombia. This means I cannot accurately indicate the number or title of Colombian bills, decrees, or resolutions currently under debate on this topic, nor their exact stage of processing. However, I can guide you on how this type of regulation is usually structured and where you might find the most reliable official information.

Limitations of the response and thematic scope

My design is oriented to analyze and explain politics, parliamentary activity, and regulations mainly in Spain: Congress of Deputies, Senate, Government of Spain, autonomous communities, and, to a lesser extent, European institutions when related to the Spanish context. Therefore, I do not have my own updated database on:

• Colombian bills or decrees under processing regarding seismic-resistant standards.
• Specific stages of the legislative procedure in the Congress of the Republic of Colombia or its executive branch.
• Current versions and update projects of Colombian technical regulations or building codes.

Consequently, any fine regulatory detail (norm number, approval date, last modification, responsible committees or rapporteurs) that I might provide about Colombia risks being inaccurate or outdated, and it would not be responsible to provide it.

How seismic-resistant regulations are usually organized

Although I cannot specify the Colombian case, it is useful to understand that seismic-resistant regulations in most Latin American countries are structured at two main levels:

• General legal framework: laws or building codes that establish the obligation to design and build according to structural safety criteria, including seismic action. These are usually established at the legislative level or through framework laws and are developed by subsequent technical regulations.
• Specific technical regulations or codes: technical documents (similar to a Building Code or Seismic-Resistant Regulation) that set concrete parameters: seismic zoning, design coefficients, material requirements, criteria for essential buildings (hospitals, schools, critical infrastructure) and for ordinary buildings.

The update of these standards is usually driven by:

• Scientific and technical advances in seismic engineering.
• Experience derived from recent earthquakes that reveal vulnerabilities in existing buildings.
• Regional harmonization processes or adoption of international standards.

How to identify the current status in Colombia

In the absence of concrete data, I can guide you on the usual channels where this type of information is published in a country like Colombia:

• Official gazette / official journal: in Colombia, regulations with the force of law and regulatory decrees are officially published, and each text indicates if it replaces, repeals, or modifies previous provisions, allowing to see the current version.
• Chamber and Senate: the official portals of the Congress of the Republic usually include a search system for bills, with details of:
  • Stage of the procedure (filed, in committee, in plenary, conciliation, presidential sanction, archive, etc.).
  • Approved texts, committee reports, and debate minutes.
• Competent ministries: usually, seismic-resistant regulation is coordinated from ministries of infrastructure, housing, planning, or similar. Their websites usually publish:
  • Draft decrees or resolutions in public consultation.
  • Consolidated versions of technical regulations.
  • Public policy documents on disaster risk management.

What kind of issues I can address

Although I cannot provide Colombian legislative detail, I can help with equivalent topics within the Spanish context, for example:

• Explain the content and update status of seismic-resistant regulations in Spain (for example, the Structural Code and associated regulations), as long as the information is available.
• Analyze Spanish bills or royal decrees related to safe construction, civil protection, and risk management.
• Describe Spanish legislative procedures comparable to Colombian ones (how technical laws are processed, the role of ministries, public consultations, Parliament, etc.).

If you are interested in a comparison between Spain's and Colombia's approach to seismic risk management from an institutional and legislative point of view, I can help structure that analysis using the Spanish part in detail and leaving the Colombian as a general framework, without entering into specific standards I cannot verify.

Based on the information available in this environment, I cannot provide concrete data, legal articles, or a detailed and verifiable list of the competencies of the Colombian Geological Service nor its specific functions in seismic risk management. No further information is available in the consulted sources. Additionally, my specialization is politics and regulation in Spain, so I am not specialized in the Colombian institutional or regulatory framework. Still, I can guide you on what types of norms you should look for and what documents usually contain these competencies in a country like Colombia.

Scope of specialization and limitations

This assistant is specifically designed to analyze and explain political, regulatory, and institutional activity issues in the Spanish context: General Courts, Government of Spain, Autonomous Communities, state regulations, as well as related informative coverage. For other countries — such as Colombia — I do not have systematic and structured access to their legal and parliamentary databases, nor to official references of their technical agencies.

For that reason, I cannot state, for example, “the Colombian Geological Service has competencies A, B, and C defined in Law X of year Y,” nor cite specific articles of Colombian laws or regulatory decrees. Doing so without documentary support would mean inventing legal information, which is not acceptable in this context.

Where these competencies are usually defined

Although I cannot give you the precise content, it is possible to generally indicate in what types of documents the competencies and functions of a technical agency like the Colombian Geological Service are normally found:

• Law of creation or restructuring of the agency: many national geological services are created or reorganized through a law or decree with the force of law that defines their legal nature, attachment to a ministry, and general functions (geological research, cartography, mineral resources, geological risks, etc.).
• Regulatory or organic decrees: there are usually decrees that approve the agency's organizational structure and detail its mission, specific objectives, competencies of each directorate or unit, and its role in national disaster risk management systems.
• Regulations on disaster risk management: in Colombia, the regulation establishing the National Disaster Risk Management System (SNGRD) and its related technical entities is, in principle, where the role assigned to specialized actors in seismic and geological risks is defined.
• Protocols and technical manuals: without being “law” in the strict sense, inter-institutional protocols (for example, seismic monitoring, alert issuance, information exchange with civil protection, etc.) usually specify the geological service's operational functions in prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery phases.

Functions expected in seismic risk matters

With caution not to attribute this specifically to the Colombian Geological Service without citing concrete norms, in many countries national geological services perform, regarding seismic risk, functions such as:

• Seismic monitoring and surveillance: operation of seismometer networks and observation stations, recording seismic events and analyzing their location, magnitude, and characteristics.
• Hazard and risk assessment: preparation of seismic hazard maps, microzonation studies, impact scenarios, and technical support to land-use planning authorities and civil protection.
• Issuance of technical information to authorities: reports and bulletins aimed at civil protection agencies, competent ministries, and institutions responsible for critical infrastructure.
• Regulatory and technical advisory: participation as an advisory entity in the development or update of seismic-resistant construction standards, emergency plans, and land-use plans.
• Outreach and training: production of outreach materials and training programs focused on seismic risk knowledge and good practices for vulnerability reduction.

How to find exact legal information in Colombia

If you need the competencies and legal functions of the Colombian Geological Service with legal precision (for example, for academic work or a technical report), I recommend:

• Identifying the creation or restructuring norm of the Colombian Geological Service (law or decree) in the Official Gazette of Colombia.
• Reviewing the decrees approving its organizational structure that usually detail the functions of each department, including those related to seismology and geological risks.
• Consulting the regulations governing the National Disaster Risk Management System, where technical support entities, including the geological service, should be listed.
• Searching on the agency's institutional website for its regulatory framework, where applicable laws and decrees are normally compiled.

Without access to those specific texts, it is not possible to offer a more detailed response or cite specific articles.

Due to the type of question you ask — technical requirements and international standards for the homologation of seismometers, accelerographs, and seismic stations — I cannot provide a detailed technical explanation nor a reliable list of specific standards (ISO, IEC, IASPEI, FDSN, USGS, etc.). I specialize in political, regulatory, and social information, especially in the Spanish context, not in seismic metrology or scientific instrumentation design. I can guide you on where these standards are usually published and how they fit into the regulatory framework, but not on the internal technical specifications of the equipment.

Scope of what I can cover

My focus is on:

• Regulations and public policies (laws, regulations, resolutions) and their processing: public consultations, hearings, Council of Ministers agreements, and parliamentary phase.
• Practical application of technical standards when they become a legal or administrative requirement (for example, homologation of devices by a public authority).
• Political and social current affairs related to natural risks (earthquakes, fires, floods), civil protection plans, and seismic-resistant building regulations.

In that sense, I can explain, for example, how a technical standard is incorporated into the Spanish legal system through UNE standards ratified and published in the BOE, as seen in resolutions from the Directorate General of Industrial Strategy and Small and Medium Enterprises, which list European and international standards adopted as UNE, for example in the June 2025 resolution, the April 2025 resolution, the one related to UNE projects of October 2025 ([link]), or resolutions on annulled and approved UNE standards ([link], [link], [link], [link], [link]).

Examples of how technical standards are treated in the regulatory field

In Spain, it is common for a sectoral authority to require that certain devices comply with specific technical standards and appear on an official list to be considered homologated. There are several recent examples in the press illustrating the mechanism (although they do not deal with seismic instruments):

• The homologation of connected V16 beacons by the DGT, which only considers valid those appearing on its official lists after passing laboratory tests, as explained in various Demócrata reports: V16 beacon and DGT list, V16 expiration, only legal requirement, check if homologated, and SERNAUTO alert.
• The homologation of eclipse glasses, where reference to standard EN ISO 12312-2:2015 and CE marking is required, described in this article and this guide.
• Certification according to ISO standards in other sectors (environmental management, information security, AI, etc.), as reported in news about ISO–UNE collaboration and compliance digitalization (Formalize and ISO), the update of ISO 14001:2026 (ISOTools), ISO 42001 AI certification (ECIJA), or ISO 27001 in cybersecurity (Jumbo Tours).

In the seismic field, the content of the newspaper Demócrata focuses on seismic-resistant building regulations — for example, NSR-10 in Colombia — and risk management, not on instrument homologation. You can see the regulatory approach in pieces like Colombian seismic regulations, building safety, what to do after an earthquake, or analyses on seismic risk in Spain and other countries (risk in Spain, impact in Venezuela, comparison with Japan, seismicity in Colombia).

What I cannot offer in this case

What I must make clear is that:

• I cannot identify or reliably summarize the ISO, IEC, IASPEI, FDSN, or USGS standards that specify parameters such as noise, dynamic range, frequency response, linearity, etc., of seismic instruments.
• I also cannot detail the calibration procedures, type tests, or laboratory requirements demanded for the international technical homologation of each type of sensor.

For that technical part, it is appropriate to go directly to ISO/IEC catalogs (through UNE in Spain), to guides from scientific organizations such as IASPEI or FDSN, or to specifications that geological agencies themselves (like USGS) publish for their instrumental networks.

If you are interested, I can help locate or interpret the legal-regulatory dimension of these topics in Spain or the EU (for example, how those technical standards would be incorporated into a legal obligation, or what procedure a royal decree would follow to require a certain standard for seismic stations of an official network).