Deadly earthquake kills 254 in western Colombia as thousands remain missing

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on August 11, resulting in 254 deaths and 3,000 people missing, according to Reuters' report. The hardest hit city was Pereira, the capital of Risaralda province, where 101 lives were lost. Cali, Colombia's third-largest city, saw 95 fatalities. Many Indigenous communities in the Choco region near the quake's epicenter are still without essential services, hindering rescue operations.

The epicenter lay 12 kilometers from San José del Palmar, 103 kilometers deep in the earth. Pereira, the province's capital, implemented emergency measures such as an emergency car-free day and an emergency suspension of school classes. Temporary shelters have been set up to help displaced residents. Following this disaster, Colombia experienced its deadliest earthquake in the 21st century.

Earlier in June, a series of powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela's Caribbean coast, near Caracas. These tremors were the most severe to hit Venezuela since 1900, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. The United Nations stated that the event claimed over 5,300 lives, damaged nearly 2 million buildings, and caused approximately $6.7 billion in losses.