A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Colombia has killed 111 people, and damaged around 1,500 buildings and homes.

The death toll from a powerful earthquake in Colombia rose to 111, testing the leadership of a president who took office just three days ago in what has been the strongest quake to hit the country this century.

Reuters, AP and AFP reported on 10th that Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said in a preliminary report that 111 people had been killed, 87 injured, 61 buildings completely destroyed and 1,500 damaged.

The President declared a state of emergency and said: "The government is mobilizing all its resources to protect lives, support affected communities and deliver aid to wherever needed. The priority is to rescue those trapped under the rubble."

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said it measured the quake, which struck at 7:34 am local time (8:34 pm Korean time) on the same day, at 7.4 magnitude at a depth of 107 km.

The epicenter was in the town of San Jose del Palmar, 400 km west of the capital Bogota in the Choco province, which has a population of 4,800.

The Colombian Geological Survey said it was the strongest earthquake recorded in the country in the 21st century.

Choco is one of the poorest provinces in Colombia, located in the jungle and mostly accessible only by boat or plane, and authorities may struggle to assess the full extent of the damage.

The worst-hit area was the department of Risaralda, where 40 people died, Reuters reported.

The city of Pereira, the capital of Risaralda, which is a coffee-growing region, suffered extensive damage.

The side tower of the city's iconic Neo-Gothic church collapsed, and the airport ceiling fell on travelers.

Resident Juan Carlos Osorio told local radio: "The sound of the building collapsing was like a bomb exploding. All the neighbors are working together, forming a human chain to rescue people. We need heavy machinery. There are too many people trapped."

Colombia is located on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where seismic activity is high, with thousands of small earthquakes recorded each month.

Susan van der Lee, a seismologist at Northwestern University in the US, said: "Theoretically, this earthquake should not have caused this much shaking because it occurred deep in the earth's crust. However, the strong magnitude and the type of fault movement may have contributed to the damage."

The Colombian Geological Survey reported 21 aftershocks until late that day and warned that further tremors were likely.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia suspended flights at several airports in the west, including Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura, for safety checks.

In 1999, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in Colombia killed over 1,000 people, with extensive damage to coffee-growing regions.

The United Nations, the US and neighboring Latin American countries offered aid.

The presidents of El Salvador, Mexico and Chile promised support for Colombia.

The massive earthquake in Colombia on June 24, following one in Venezuela, has left residents in the Latin American region on edge.

In Venezuela, the death toll from the earthquake was 6,301.