The search for survivors in the rubble of Colombia’s powerful earthquake grew more desperate, two days after the quake razed buildings, buckled roads and crushed cars.
The devastation has tested Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, and his government as it scrambles to respond to the disaster and civil society as it pushes to provide aid to the most affected communities.
Colombian forensics authorities said Thursday that more than 200 people died in the 7.4 magnitude earthquake. The government has been slow to provide updated tolls, and the true number is likely higher.
De la Espriella said Tuesday that at least 181 people died and 2595 more were injured. Local and federal authorities have reported hundreds missing, while civilian-run databases put that number at more than 4100.
Teams continued to pick through the rubble in the hardest-hit cities of Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo, as time ticked away for victims to be found — and rescued — alive. Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours crucial for retrieving survivors, though that threshold can be extended if those trapped have access to food and water.
On Wednesday afternoon, Alejandro Eder, the mayor of Cali, told reporters that rescue teams continue to find signs of people alive under the rubble and are racing to save them.
"The next 20 hours are the most critical to find and rescue people alive," he said. "Every minute is vital."
Survival takes many forms in hard-hit areas
In Pereira, rescuers pulled Daniela Largo alive from the rubble late Wednesday, capping a complex 12-hour rescue in which crews carved a small opening in the debris to free her pinned arm and a doctor administered IV fluids to stabilise her. Wrapped in a blue blanket, the young woman was carried to an ambulance as firefighters embraced and onlookers cheered.
Across the coffee-growing region, among the areas worst affected by the quake, authorities have converted sports arenas, schools and other public buildings into shelters for thousands of displaced Colombians. In Pereira and Cali, families have been sleeping in parks — some fearing aftershocks or the collapse of their damaged homes, others without homes to return to.
Colombia’s geological service has documented 130 aftershocks since the quake.
"We have the most important things: a roof over our heads, food, water and, in my case, medical care," said Edith Penagos, 48, who was staying with her teenage son in one of the white tents set up in a Pereira park.
Rodrigo León Loya, a seismologist and geosciences professor at the University of the Andes, said the probability of an earthquake of a similar magnitude occurring in the same area is low but he would not rule out more seismic activity.
"Let’s remember that Colombia is full of active fault lines," he said. "The question isn’t whether it can happen again. The question is rather when an earthquake of similar magnitude will occur at another of Colombia’s seismic sources."
Aid groups provide humanitarian relief
In many areas, including the epicentre of the quake Choco, the official response to the disaster has been complicated by the ongoing crises of deep poverty and civil warfare that has created waves of forced displacement for decades. The true impact of the earthquake in the jungled northwest remained largely unknown because cell service has been lost and many of the likely affected communities are remote, accessible only by river.
"This earthquake compounds an already severe humanitarian situation, and there is a need for increased support for the humanitarian response,” said Giovanni Rizzo, Colombia director for the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Many aid organisations were already on the ground in Choco supporting a 2016 peace accord between the government and leftist rebels, and responding to violence in the region involving other armed groups that has persisted since then.
Those humanitarian workers were able to quickly pivot to disaster relief, said María José Torres, the UN resident coordinator in Colombia.
"We have a presence on the ground. Therefore, our ability to be there, present with the people, I think, has increased exponentially," Torres said in a statement Tuesday.
Regional partners promise to help
At the same time, aid from other countries and nonprofits abroad continued to roll in.
On Wednesday, the State Department said it would send two search and rescue teams to Colombia that helped with rescue efforts in Venezuela just weeks before. The US has also offered over $15 million in aid.
Mexico meanwhile said it had sent two military aircraft carrying 19.5 tonnes of nonperishable food and 19 members of Mexican security forces to Pereira, and it plans to send another 39 tons of aid in the coming days. A further 255 military specialists and 20 dogs are on standby to be sent to Colombia if needed.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele offered to send two planes loaded with 100 tons of aid.
On Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV thanked those contributing to recovery efforts, and said he is praying for those killed, injured or otherwise affected by the earthquake.
“I want to express my solidarity with my Colombian sisters and brothers who have suffered the effects of the recent earthquake,” he said.
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