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Death Toll Rises to 224 After Powerful Earthquake Hits Western Colombia

evening · · thread: Magnitude 7.4 Earthquake Hits Western Colombia Leaving at Least 20 Dead

29 sources across 17 countries · 1 of them is linked to a state

Who reported this

  • G1 Brazil · Centre-left · Grupo Globo (Marinho family)
  • CNN Brasil Brazil · Centre · Rubens Menin (MRV)
  • Folha de S.Paulo Brazil · Centre · Grupo Folha (Frias family)
  • El Espectador Colombia · Centre-left · Grupo Santo Domingo
  • La Silla Vacia Colombia · Centre · Foundation-owned
  • El Tiempo Colombia · Centre-right · Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo (Grupo Aval)
  • The Guardian United Kingdom · Centre-left · Scott Trust Limited
  • BBC News United Kingdom · Centre · Public · Licence fee, royal charter
  • Reuters United Kingdom · Centre · Thomson Reuters Corporation
  • CNN United States · Centre-left · Warner Bros. Discovery
  • Associated Press United States · Centre · Non-profit news cooperative
  • Bloomberg United States · Centre · Bloomberg L.P. (Michael Bloomberg)
  • Infobae Argentina · Centre-right · Daniel Hadad
  • La Nacion Argentina · Centre-right · Saguier family
  • Le Monde France · Centre-left · Fonds pour l'independance de la presse
  • France 24 France · Centre · Public · France Medias Monde (French state holding)
  • Der Spiegel Germany · Centre-left · ~50% staff-owned
  • Deutsche Welle Germany · Centre · Public · German federal public-law corporation
  • ANSA Italy · Centre · Publisher cooperative
  • Corriere della Sera Italy · Centre-right · RCS MediaGroup (Cairo Communication)
  • La Tercera Chile · Centre-right · Copesa (Saieh family)
  • Scroll.in India · Left · Scroll Media Inc, reader-funded
  • Asahi Shimbun Japan · Centre-left · Asahi Shimbun Company (family and employee held)
  • NRC Netherlands · Centre · Mediahuis
  • Aftenposten Norway · Centre-right · Schibsted, Tinius Trust foundation
  • Dawn Pakistan · Centre-left · Pakistan Herald Publications (Haroon family)
  • Al Jazeera Qatar · Centre-left · State-affiliated · Qatari government funded
  • El Pais Spain · Centre-left · Grupo PRISA
  • Neue Zuercher Zeitung Switzerland · Centre-right · Dispersed shareholders, no controlling stake

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.

Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.

The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, August 10, 2026, leaving at least 224 people dead and hundreds more injured. The epicenter was located near San José del Palmar in the Chocó department, a poor and isolated region. The disaster has left more than 3,000 people missing, many of whom are feared trapped under collapsed buildings. The earthquake is described as the strongest to hit the country in the 21st century, with effects felt as far as Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela.

Major cities including Cali, Pereira, Manizales, and Quibdó suffered extensive damage. In Cali, reports indicate at least 85 to 95 deaths and the partial collapse of a hospital, where several patients were rescued. Pereira reported at least 66 to 73 deaths. Infrastructure damage is widespread, with reports of 165 buildings completely collapsed and over 1,600 structures damaged. In response, President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office only three days prior, declared a national state of emergency and mobilized the national government to coordinate relief efforts.

Security concerns emerged in the aftermath, leading Mayor Alejandro Eder to implement a curfew and militarize parts of Cali to prevent looting. Reports indicate that Mayor Eder was later attacked with a stone to the head while managing the emergency. International aid has begun to arrive, with the United States pledging 15.5 million dollars and the European Union activating its Copernicus satellite service to assist rescue operations. Other nations, including Israel, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and El Salvador, have offered assistance.

Geologists note that the quake was anomalous due to its depth of approximately 100 kilometers, which allowed seismic waves to travel effectively over long distances. While some observers have drawn comparisons to a deadly earthquake in Venezuela in June, experts from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology state there is no evidence of a direct link between the two events.

How each side framed it

Left
These outlets focused on the international response and the immediate political pressure on the newly inaugurated president.
Centre-left
These outlets emphasized human interest stories, such as survivor testimonies, and the immediate impact on civilians.
Centre
These outlets focused on the logistical details of the disaster, the death toll, and the scientific explanations for the earthquake.
Centre-right
These outlets highlighted the security response, the risk of looting, and the broader regional seismic implications for other countries.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.