Natural disaster: Earthquake in Colombia – 164 dead and search for survivors

After the most severe earthquake in Colombia in decades, rescue teams continued their search for survivors on Tuesday. The 7.4-magnitude quake in the coffee-growing region of western Colombia on Monday killed at least 164 people, and authorities fear the death toll will continue to rise. Rescue teams, soldiers, and volunteers searched through the night for people trapped under the rubble of collapsed homes. In the worst-affected cities of Cali and Pereira, nighttime curfews were imposed.

In the 2.2-million-strong metropolis of Cali, at least 85 people died, according to official figures. Parts of a hospital had also collapsed. Around 600 patients had to be treated on the street, hospital director Irne Torres Castro told the Caracol TV channel.

Forty-three-year-old volunteer Carmen Yasmin Garcia said her group had rescued seven people from a collapsed building, but four more people and a dog were still missing.

In Pereira, the capital of the Risaralda province, authorities reported 66 deaths. A video verified by the Reuters news agency on social media showed the terminal of the city's airport swaying violently during the quake, with chunks of the ceiling falling.

In the rural province of Chocó, near the epicenter, 13 people were killed.

President announces dispatch of security forces

President Abelardo De La Espriella, who took office a few days ago, announced the dispatch of 1,000 security personnel to Cali after reports of looting. There were no ideological differences when it came to protecting the population and showing solidarity, he said.

The disaster brought back memories of a major earthquake in the same region in 1999, which killed more than 1,000 people. Parallels were also drawn with the devastating earthquakes in neighboring Venezuela in June, which killed more than 6,300 people.