7.4 earthquake strikes western Colombia, dozens of deaths reported — CBS News — Top

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7.4 earthquake strikes western Colombia, dozens of deaths reported — CBS News — Top | AIPROPX

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 struck western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 51 people, trapping others under debris and causing serious damage across the region, officials said. An unspecified number of injuries were reported.The epicenter was in San Jos\u00e9 del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Choc\u00f3 region about 250 miles west of Colombia\u0027s capital, Bogot\u00e1, the U.S. Geological Survey and Colombia\u0027s counterpart reported. USGS also reported a 5.0 magnitude aftershock less than an hour later.There were at least four deaths and 69 injuries in the Choc\u00f3 province, Gov. Nubia Carolina C\u00f3rdoba-Curi said on social media.Local officials in cities and regions neighboring Choc\u00f3 also confirmed deaths, including at least 27 people in the Valle del Cauca department, where Colombia\u0027s third-biggest city, Cali, is located; 18 in the city of Pereira; and two in the city of Manizales. At least three killed in Valle del Cauca were children, the governor reported.The earthquake prompted evacuations as far away as Bogot\u00e1. Witnesses reported feeling the shaking across the capital and all the way to the coast in Barranquilla, as well as in Ecuador to the south."The quake was very, very strong," Valeria Polo, a 29-year-old content creator in Bogot\u00e1, told the Agence France-Presse news agency.The quake left cities, including Cali, Manizales, Pereira and Quibd\u00f3, ravaged. A mix of residents and search teams picked through the rubble of collapsed buildings. Colombia\u0027s interior minister said more than 20 municipalities across the country had been hit.Over a dozen buildings and more than 20 homes were partially or totally destroyed in Manizales, Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said in\u00a0a video\u00a0posted on social media. Images showed one of the towers of the city\u0027s neo-Gothic cathedral had\u00a0collapsed\u00a0and fallen on the nave.In Cali \u2014 a city of 2 million people \u2014\u00a0Mayor Alejandro Eder said residents were trapped in at least 20 buildings that had collapsed.Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver in Cali, said he saw plumes of dust shoot up across the city from his home."My entire house shook," he said. "I\u0027ve never lived through such a powerful earthquake."In Pereira, photos and videos published by local media showed pieces of the airport ceiling falling down on travelers taking shelter and screaming, and people running through rubble in a panic.Flights were suspended at multiple airports, including in Pereira, Manizales, Quibd\u00f3 and Armenia, authorities reported.In Armenia, several people have been evacuated from their homes over structural damage fears.No structural damage was reported in Bogot\u00e1,\u00a0Mayor Carlos F. Gal\u00e1n said.Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said in\u00a0a social media post\u00a0that he is leading the emergency response and will travel to the quake zone.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a social media post on Monday that the Trump administration was closely monitoring the earthquake and "stands ready to support the people of Colombia."Colombia\u0027s Geological Service said Monday\u0027s seismic activity was "the highest magnitude earthquake registered in Colombia in the last decade."Small earthquakes, known as "temblores," are common in central and western Colombia, but those above 6.0 magnitude are rare. The area where Monday\u0027s quake hit, Colombia\u0027s coffee region, was devastated by an\u00a0earthquake in 1999\u00a0that killed more than 1,200 people.The earthquake in Colombia follows two back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes that struck neighboring Venezuela in late June, which caused widespread damage and killed more than 5,000 people.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.