Colombia rocked by 7.4 magnitude earthquake—its largest in the past decade
This seismic event is of a similar magnitude to the pair of earthquakes that hit Venezuela in June
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia on Monday, causing significant damage across the western part of the country and claiming dozens of lives. This seismic event marks the strongest quake to hit Colombia in the past ten years. The tremor occurred in the region of Chocó, located approximately 150 miles west of Bogotá, at 7:34 a.m. local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Geologists believe the earthquake was caused by stress building up within the Nazca tectonic plate, rather than the interaction of tectonic plates. The earthquake's depth of 66 miles allowed its effects to be felt across a wide geographic area, but the energy dispersed, resulting in less severe shaking. Colombia's interior minister recently announced that over 20 municipalities across the nation were impacted by the disaster.
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