Colombia searches for quake survivors as death toll nears 170

Oscar Medina, Bloomberg News on Aug 11, 2026

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A second day of search and rescue efforts is underway after a massive earthquake struck western Colombia, burying people in rubble and causing untold damage in its Pacific region and the central Andes.

The death toll from the 7.4-magnitude earthquake rose to at least 169 people Tuesday morning, according to Asocapitales, an association of capital cities. The number is expected to continue rising as rescue teams search for survivors.

Colombians have turned to social media to find missing people. Colombia Te Busca, a website that was previously used during devastating earthquakes that struck neighboring Venezuela in June, currently lists more than 3,300 people as missing.

President Abelardo de la Espriella traveled to the Choco province Monday, where he announced that his government will provide temporary rental subsidies to families whose homes were damaged. Immediate economic aid has already been delivered to support more than 1,400 families, he said.

The tragedy presents an early challenge to the president who took office Friday during a ceremony in Cali, one of the cities hit hard by the quake. The earthquake struck in Colombia’s coffee region, raising the prospect of wider economic damage.

Arabica coffee futures in New York rose to a two-week high on concerns that the earthquake in Colombia could disrupt supplies from the world’s second-largest producer of the premium beans.

De la Espriella declared a state of disaster, allowing him to speed up up relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. Some lawmakers have pushed him to declare an economic emergency, a broader declaration that would let him issue decrees related to the crisis without the need for congressional approval.

The conservative leader had pledged to slash public spending in an effort to curb Colombia’s growing budget deficits, while also decentralizing power by governing outside the capital of Bogota. Now he must contend with the challenge of costly relief efforts and rebuilding. Thousands of homes and buildings have been damaged in multiple cities, airport operations were disrupted and highways have been shut down as a result of the quake.

De la Espriella said Monday that his government has the necessary resources and funding to respond to the tragedy. “Centralism abandoned this region to its fate for many years,” he said in Choco, vowing to address “an enormous historical debt” owed to the region. “Anyone might think that debt is impossible to repay, but I am used to being told that things cannot be done. I make the impossible possible.”

Cali’s international airport resumed operations late Monday, Colombia’s aviation authority said on social media.

The U.S. State Department announced Monday that it would send $15.5 million to Colombia for emergency shelter, food, protection, and earthquake assessments. Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum, Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa and other foreign leaders also pledged to help in the immediate aftermath of the quake.

—With assistance from Mie Dahl and Vivien Ngo.