Disasters & Incidents
Colombia quake families recover photos as hope fades
Families in Colombia are recovering photos and other belongings from collapsed buildings as hopes fade of finding more survivors nearly a week after the country's 7.4-magnitude earthquake killed nearly 300 people.
At Torres del Limonar, a residential complex in Cali that collapsed in Monday's quake, people searched through rubble to return victims' possessions to relatives. Marlene Nino, a 70-year-old retired lawyer, said volunteers found photos from the ruins after her sister Doris Nino died there.
“We're left with the memories,” Nino told AFP. She said the photos had great sentimental value and left her with a mix of “joy, sadness and nostalgia.”
Doris Nino, 72, lived alone and was about to leave for a dentist appointment when the building collapsed. Marlene Nino said several nephews joined the search as volunteers and found her body near what was left of the kitchen.
The quake has killed nearly 300 people, and more than 100 people remain missing. Rescue operations have been called off in many buildings, though earlier search efforts continued as heavy machinery cleared rubble in quake-hit cities.
Authorities have said thousands of buildings and nearly 27,000 homes were destroyed, leaving many survivors without shelter. In Cali, Mayor Alejandro Eder estimated that rebuilding Colombia's third-largest city would cost at least $3.2 billion.
Colombia has received aid from countries including the United States and from organisations including the World Bank. President Abelardo de la Espriella has asked US President Donald Trump to consider temporarily suspending tariffs on Colombian products to help the response.
The disaster has also taken a psychological toll on families and volunteers. Colombia has activated a national network to offer counseling online and in person, and some professionals have traveled to the hardest-hit areas.
Manuela Barrios, a volunteer psychologist in Limonar, said recovered objects help survivors “preserve the memory.”
Marlene Nino said finding her sister's body brought some relief, but also deep sadness. “We were able to find the body; some people couldn't. And that seems even sadder to me,” she said.
Update
People at the collapsed Torres del Limonar residential complex in Cali are recovering victims' belongings for grieving families.
Marlene Nino said volunteers recovered photos after her sister Doris Nino, 72, died in the building collapse.
More than 100 people remain missing, while rescue operations have been called off in many buildings.
Colombia has activated a national network to provide online and in-person counseling for people affected by the quake.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 02:18:47 UTC.
Update
Authorities said at least 140 people are still missing after the quake.
Nearly 27,000 homes were destroyed, according to the new account.
Heavy machinery was being used to clear rubble as hopes of finding survivors faded a week after the disaster.
Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder estimated reconstruction of the city would cost at least $3.2 billion.
Some buildings in hard-hit areas were marked with a red X to warn of collapse risk and block pedestrian access.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 00:22:07 UTC.
Update
Michael Ruiz said his sister Lenny died while shielding her dog Salomon when their building collapsed in Cali.
Ruiz said he found Salomon beside Lenny's body in the rubble after digging with rescuers.
Salomon is 12 years old and has epileptic seizures that have left him blind.
A video of Salomon on Lenny's coffin has been viewed tens of thousands of times on social media, according to AFP.
Six days after the quake, many pet owners were still hoping missing animals would be found alive.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 August 2026 at 09:47:43 UTC.
Update
More than 14,000 homes are reported to have collapsed in the quake.
President Abelardo de la Espriella said he asked US President Donald Trump to temporarily suspend tariffs on Colombian products during reconstruction.
De la Espriella thanked the United States for $26.5 million in aid and rescue support, and Israel for humanitarian assistance and rescuers.
The latest item names Cali, Pereira and Manizales as among the hardest-hit cities needing costly reconstruction.
De la Espriella plans to declare a state of economic emergency, according to the latest item.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 August 2026 at 02:35:14 UTC.
Update
Daniela Largo, 32, died Friday after being rescued from rubble in Pereira on Tuesday, her family told AFP.
Authorities said the earthquake death toll had reached at least 294 and nearly 4,000 people were injured.
The disaster management agency said at least 320 people were still unaccounted for.
Workers in the most devastated areas were using heavy machinery to remove pieces of roofs and walls.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 August 2026 at 17:34:19 UTC.
Update
The US State Department announced an $11 million aid package, on top of $15.5 million already pledged.
President Abelardo de la Espriella said he wanted a “Marshall Plan” for the quake-hit Choco region.
Rescuers continued searching after the 72-hour survival window had passed, while families waited for news of missing relatives.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 August 2026 at 00:20:08 UTC.
Update
President Abelardo de la Espriella said at least 287 people were dead.
Rescuers continued searching after the critical 72-hour window had passed, while officials said the chance of finding survivors was diminishing.
The quake damaged a morgue in Cali, and bodies were being transported to Palmira.
The World Bank said it was disbursing $200 million in emergency funds and providing a mechanism to assess economic losses.
Mexico's president said Colombia refused entry to Mexican rescuers over certification, while Colombia denied politically motivated blocking of aid teams.
Source note: AFP news report published on 14 August 2026 at 19:24:59 UTC.
Update
Displaced families are continuing to arrive at makeshift camps in Pereira after losing homes and livelihoods.
The item describes Pereira's poorest neighborhoods as among the worst affected, including homeless people, Venezuelan migrants and street vendors.
Power-grid problems are causing regular blackouts in Pereira.
Survivors described losing homes, workplaces and possessions, including a carwash, a rented room and a bike workshop.
The Colombian government has not yet published estimates of the cost of rebuilding the quake zone.
Source note: AFP news report published on 14 August 2026 at 19:07:00 UTC.
Update
The World Bank said it launched a Global Rapid Assessment of Damages from Earthquakes to give Colombia's government an early assessment of economic loss for aid and reconstruction priorities.
Source note: AFP news report published on 14 August 2026 at 13:23:52 UTC.
Update
The World Bank disbursed $200 million in aid for Colombia's earthquake response.
Source note: AFP news report published on 14 August 2026 at 13:15:01 UTC.
Update
President Abelardo de la Espriella said the quake had killed 281 people and injured almost 4,000.
Officials said 379 people remained missing.
Nearly 13,000 homes were destroyed across the coffee-growing region and along the coast.
Colombia's disaster relief chief David Tamayo said search teams would not stop until all missing people were found, while acknowledging that hopes of finding survivors were diminishing.
Officials said Colombia was preparing to receive search-and-rescue teams from the United States, El Salvador, Ecuador and Israel.
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said Colombia had refused entry to Mexican rescuers over certification issues.
Source note: AFP news report published on 14 August 2026 at 07:12:54 UTC.
Update
Rescuers continued searching in Cali and Pereira as the 72-hour period after the quake drew to a close.
Several dozen aftershocks and unstable buildings were complicating rescue work, according to officials.
Ombudsman Iris Marin said a hospital in Choco was operating at 160 percent capacity and conditions in 32 Indigenous settlements had not yet been verified.
Valle del Cauca officials were conducting a census of damaged and destroyed homes to decide which buildings could still be occupied.
Colombia was preparing to receive urban search-and-rescue teams from the United States, El Salvador, Ecuador and Israel.
Source note: AFP news report published on 13 August 2026 at 15:52:20 UTC.
Update
Rescuers were making last-ditch efforts early Thursday as the first 72-hour rescue window neared its end.
The United States announced $15.5 million in emergency aid to Colombia.
The European Union pledged two million euros, or $2.3 million.
Source note: AFP news report published on 13 August 2026 at 08:38:18 UTC.
Update
Officials described the search for survivors as entering its final phase before the first 72 hours ended.
Local authorities said almost 500 people were missing.
Official figures said more than 11,000 dwellings had been destroyed.
Rescuers in Pereira detected possible signs of life under a collapsed bakery.
Source note: AFP news report published on 12 August 2026 at 23:02:22 UTC.
Update
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella declared an economic emergency.
De la Espriella said the quake had injured almost 3,500 people.
The president vowed that Colombia would rebuild after the quake.
Source note: AFP news report published on 12 August 2026 at 22:39:37 UTC.
Update
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said the earthquake death toll had reached 265.
Source note: AFP news report published on 12 August 2026 at 22:27:40 UTC.
Update
Authorities revised the earthquake death toll down to 216 after local officials in Cali corrected earlier figures.
Source note: AFP news report published on 12 August 2026 at 03:35:51 UTC.
Update
Rescuers pulled 32-year-old Daniela Largo alive from rubble in Pereira on Tuesday.
Largo's mother said a local resident heard cries for help and neighbors helped remove debris before professional rescuers arrived.
The new account adds witness detail from Beatriz Arcos, who said she and relatives were trapped for about an hour and were injured.
Source note: AFP news report published on 12 August 2026 at 02:58:14 UTC.
Update
The death toll rose to at least 241.
The reported injury toll rose to more than 1,670, according to a tally by municipal authorities.
Families slept in parks in Pereira and Cali as aftershocks continued.
Part of Hospital Universitario del Valle in Cali collapsed, reducing capacity from 590 to 350 patients.
Source note: AFP news report published on 12 August 2026 at 00:12:06 UTC.
Update
Volunteers were searching rubble Tuesday for survivors from the earthquake.
The quake leveled more than a hundred homes and office buildings, according to the item.
Electricity was all but gone in Pereira, described as the hardest-hit city.
President Abelardo de la Espriella promised rent subsidies for affected people during a visit to Pereira.
Trade and rescue accounts described people being pulled from collapsed buildings in Cali.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 August 2026 at 18:21:53 UTC.
Update
Local authorities said the Colombia earthquake death toll rose to 240.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 August 2026 at 17:13:34 UTC.
Update
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed sadness over the Colombia earthquake through spokesman Farhan Haq.
The United Nations said it was in close contact with Colombian authorities and was supporting the government-led response as requested.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 August 2026 at 15:48:27 UTC.
Update
Mayors of major affected cities said at least 181 people had been killed.
The reported injury toll rose to more than 1,300.
Volunteers searched rubble overnight in Pereira and Cali for possible survivors.
The US Geological Survey described the quake as Colombia's strongest in a century.
The Vatican said Pope Leo XIV offered prayers for those affected.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 August 2026 at 13:37:49 UTC.
Update
A mayors' association said more than 600 people were injured.
Colombian mayors reported 165 buildings collapsed.
The deaths were concentrated in Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 August 2026 at 12:11:21 UTC.
Update
A mayors' association said the Colombia earthquake death toll had risen to 169.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 August 2026 at 12:00:55 UTC.
Update
The Colombian Association of Capital Cities put the death toll at 132 and said more than 570 people were injured as of Monday afternoon.
Volunteers and rescuers continued searching rubble early Tuesday.
Pereira was mostly without power on Monday night as searches continued under collapsed buildings.
A Quibdo local official said public services and communications had been virtually shut down.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 August 2026 at 07:39:13 UTC.
Update
A nighttime curfew was declared in Cali, according to local authorities.
AFP reported detailed rescue efforts in Cali, including volunteers removing rubble and one account that a man and a baby had been pulled out while a woman remained trapped.
Rescuers were searching collapsed buildings across several cities and authorities again warned that the death toll could rise.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 August 2026 at 00:44:32 UTC.
Update
The US State Department announced $15.5 million in aid for quake-hit Colombia.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 23:11:52 UTC.
Update
More than 1,500 buildings are now reported damaged, up from more than 1,000 in the matched story.
Authorities said an unknown number of people remained buried under rubble.
Hospitals were placed on red alert during the rescue operation.
US Geological Survey experts said the quake was likely caused by movement along a deep fault within the Nazca tectonic plate.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 21:22:17 UTC.
Update
President Abelardo de la Espriella reported more than 1,000 buildings damaged.
Authorities in Choco reported 12 deaths.
Local authorities had earlier reported at least 40 deaths in Risaralda region, whose capital is Pereira.
France was listed among countries offering assistance.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 19:42:34 UTC.
Update
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was ready to provide more support after the earthquake.
Von der Leyen said the EU had mobilised its Copernicus satellite service to help rescue operations.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 19:04:38 UTC.
Update
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella declared a state of emergency after the deadly earthquake.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 18:25:48 UTC.
Update
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said the earthquake killed 111 people.
De la Espriella said 87 people were injured.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 August 2026 at 18:28:52 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The latest supplied figures give nearly 300 deaths and more than 100 people missing; earlier supplied figures gave at least 140 missing and other counts for people unaccounted for.
The source says hopes of finding more survivors have faded, but does not state that all rescue operations have ended everywhere.
Source
AFP news report published on .