Powerful earthquake tarnishes Colombia; over 1600 buildings collapse

New Delhi : Colombia was struck by a mega 7.4 magnitude earthquake leaving the city in devastated state; nearly 1600 buildings, reportedly, collapsed during the event and around 134 people lost their lives. Several others were injured and were trapped under the debris of the collapsed buildings.

This is the strongest earthquake faced by the South American nation in this decade.

The death toll is likely to increase as many people are still stuck inside the debris and the Colombian Geological Service has warned of more tremors/aftershocks in the coming days.

The incident comes days after President Abelardo De La Espriella took over the office. He also assured full support from the government in the rescue operations and also relief operations for the people. "We are not going to leave the people alone in the current situation," he said.

According to Espriella, at least 1,575 homes, 18 health centres, and 52 schools had been damaged in the powerful quake that was followed by 21 aftershocks.

Several people have shared visuals from the devastating earthquake on the social media showing how terrified they were as they witnessed it. In the videos circulating on the internet, a four-story building crumbled in Pereira during the quake, while footage from Manizales showed one of the side towers of the city's landmark neo-Gothic cathedral collapsing and scattering debris onto nearby streets.

Colombia's Pacific region around the epicenter lies along the "Ring of Fire," the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur. 

The Pacific, particularly the Choco region, is one of Colombia's poorest, nestled in dense jungle. Much of Choco is only reachable by boat or plane, which may pose difficulty in assessing the wider toll.