Watch: Buildings crumble, debris rains down as 7.4-magnitude quake hits Colombia

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Colombia's western region on Monday, causing widespread destruction and claiming at least 132 lives, according to the Colombian Association of Capital Cities. The quake's epicenter was located in the Chocó department. Hundreds of buildings sustained damage, with at least 61 collapsing entirely. The government declared a national disaster and dispatched soldiers to assist in rescue efforts.

Videos shared on social media depicted the scale of the devastation. In the city of Pereira, footage showed buildings tumbling as people rushed for safety, enveloped in clouds of dust and debris. Another video captured residents fleeing as a second structure crumbled. Similar scenes unfolded across the city, with damaged and collapsed buildings in abundance.

Pereira recorded the highest number of fatalities, with at least 60 deaths reported, according to the Colombian Association of Capital Cities. Local footage depicted rubble-strewn streets and individuals scouring damaged buildings for survivors. At Pereira's Matecaña International Airport, ceiling sections collapsed, sending debris plummeting into the passenger seating area as travelers sought refuge.

Emergency responders were actively working in Cali, where the pediatric and neonatal sections of a hospital among the structures damaged. Search teams and civilians combed through rubble, passing sizable chunks of concrete to lines of volunteers. The earthquake has sparked a growing search for missing individuals, with over 2,000 people listed on a digital database, primarily in Cali and Pereira.

The Pacific region of Colombia, along the famed Ring of Fire, lies in a major zone of seismic activity. The remote Chocó region, largely dense jungle and reachable mainly by boat or aircraft, may complicate efforts to gauge the full extent of the damage. Colombia's President, Abelardo de la Espriella, reported that at least 87 people were injured and approximately 1,600 buildings damaged. He also declared an emergency to expedite funding for earthquake recovery efforts.

The disaster has evoked memories of Colombia's 1999 coffee-region earthquake, which claimed 1,185 lives and injured over 8,500 people.