Colombia's Earthquake Death Toll Passes 280 With 140 Still Missing

Six days after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia, rescue teams are recovering bodies rather than survivors. Colombian officials have raised their count of the missing sharply since the initial estimates: the confirmed death toll stands at 281, with 379 people still missing and 3,971 injured, according to Anadolu Agency.

The quake struck on 10 August near San José del Palmar in Chocó department, CNN reported, with shaking felt in Cali and Pereira. President Gustavo Petro's government declared a state of emergency as the initial toll climbed through the first day. More than 12,000 homes were destroyed and over 74,000 damaged, and earthquakes of this magnitude are rare in Colombia.

The affected region is economically significant beyond its population size. Western Colombia contains the coffee-growing departments and the road and rail links connecting Bogotá and the interior to the Pacific port of Buenaventura, through which a large share of the country's containerised trade moves. Damage to that corridor raises inland freight costs and delays exports even where production itself is intact.

Reconstruction costs will add to public finances that were already under pressure. Colombia has run persistent fiscal deficits, and an emergency housing and infrastructure programme of this size requires either new borrowing, reallocation from existing budgets or external assistance. The government faces that decision in an election year.