A powerful earthquake shook Thursday, August 17 at midday Bogota, causing a brief wind of panic in the streets of the Colombian capital. One person died because of this panic. No major damage was observed.
The earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.1, took place at 12:04 p.m. (7:04 p.m. in Paris), according to an emergency bulletin issued by the Colombian Geological Service on X (ex-Twitter). The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the locality of El Calvario, 50 kilometers southeast of Bogota, and at a depth of 30 kilometers, according to the geological service.
In northern Bogota, buildings shook, sirens went off and thousands of people, some in panic, immediately ran out of buildings to rush into the streets and call loved ones on their cellphones, Agence France found. -Press. Workers rushed down from a building under construction to seek refuge, among hundreds of other onlookers, in a crowded nearby park; Evacuation alarms sounded in the city.
A second tremor took place about ten minutes later, prompting further cries of fear and a brief panic. However, no damage was visible on the buildings in this part of the city.
“The only serious incident reported is the death of a woman apparently in a fit of hysterics who threw herself from the tenth floor of an apartment building,” the mayor reported on X, Claudia Lopez. Firefighters confirmed the death of the victim.
According to Ms. Lopez, there have been “people stuck in elevators and other minor incidents” of the same type. At least four aftershocks have been recorded, ranging between 4.8 and 5.4 in magnitude, according to the geological service.
“Windows of homes and establishments affected”
In a video broadcast live by the Colombian presidency, during a meeting attended by the president, Gustavo Petro, in a large hotel in the city, the American ambassador, Francisco Palmieri, interrupted in the middle of his speech, suddenly questioning himself in English, looking worried and raising his finger: “An earthquake? “, before resuming, again with a smile on his face, his intervention. The hotel was ultimately not evacuated, the national press said.
“Civil security has verified that in the municipality of Calvario (Meta region), the entire municipality has been evacuated, only the windows of houses and establishments have been affected”, said in a bulletin this same civil security (UNGRD ).
“We had two seismic events: the first with an epicenter in El Calvario, magnitude 6.1. The second, also in Villavicencio, of magnitude 5.6 and of superficial origin. The latter was felt virtually throughout the country. Currently, possible structural damage in Villavicencio is being verified,” the UNGRD added. “In Villavicencio, there is a landslide (…) on the road, we are checking other consequences,” said the same source.
Earthquakes occur at very regular intervals in Colombia, but most often at great depth and without causing major damage.
Crossed by the Andes Cordillera, with more than twenty volcanoes (including three active ones), the country is located at the crossroads of the Pacific Ring of Fire and the Andean volcanic belt. In Bogota, as in all major cities in the country, evacuation drills for homes and other office buildings are regularly organized by the authorities.
