Strong earthquake rocks Colombia, sending Bogotá residents into the streets
A strong earthquake centered in Chocó shook Colombia on Monday morning, emptying buildings in Bogotá and Barranquilla, with reported damage in Cali and Manizales and conflicting preliminary magnitudes of 6.7 and 7.4.
A strong earthquake struck Colombia on Monday, August 10, 2026, at about 7:34 a.m., with its epicenter in San José del Palmar, Chocó. The tremor was felt in Bogotá, Cartagena and other cities. Preliminary magnitude estimates conflicted: Colombia's Geological Service reported 6.7, while Univision cited 7.4.
A strong earthquake struck Colombia on Monday morning, August 10, 2026, shaking Bogotá and cities across the country and sending residents into the streets. The epicenter was located in San José del Palmar, in the western department of Chocó, according to Colombia's Geological Service (SGC), which put the tremor at about 7:34 a.m. local time. The quake's size remained uncertain in its immediate aftermath. The SGC reported a preliminary magnitude of 6.7, while Univision, citing the same agency, reported 7.4. According to those reports, the earthquake originated at a depth of 96 kilometers and was felt in Bogotá, Cartagena, and other cities, with additional accounts from Panama. Serious building damage was reported in Cali and Manizales, and Chocó's governor reported injuries in Quibdó. The jolt is Colombia's most significant seismic event since a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Cundinamarca department in June 2025, injuring at least 31 people. It also comes nine days after the SGC raised its alert level from yellow to orange, citing significant changes in several monitored parameters.
A morning jolt felt from Chocó to the Caribbean coast
The earthquake struck at approximately 7:34 a.m. local time on Monday, August 10, 2026, according to preliminary reporting from Colombia's Geological Service (SGC). The timing meant the tremor caught millions of Colombians at the start of their day — at home, at breakfast tables, or already on their morning commutes.
The epicenter was located in San José del Palmar, a municipality in the department of Chocó, on Colombia's Pacific side. Reports indicated the earthquake occurred at a depth of 96 kilometers, a figure attributed to preliminary assessments rather than confirmed measurement.
Despite originating in one of the country's more sparsely populated regions, the shaking was felt across a broad swath of Colombia. Reports described the tremor being felt in Bogotá, the capital high in the Andes, as well as in Cartagena on the Caribbean coast and in other cities across the country. There were also reports of the shaking being felt as far away as Panama and in the southern Chocó region, though these accounts remained preliminary.
The wide geographic reach of the tremor reflected the earthquake's strength. Shaking extended from the Pacific lowlands of Chocó, across the Andean cordilleras where Bogotá sits within the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, and north to the Caribbean shoreline — a span of several hundred kilometers.
In the immediate aftermath, Colombian authorities said they were maintaining monitoring to determine whether the earthquake had caused damage or affected people, as reports continued to arrive from across the country.
Two magnitudes, one quake: the 6.7 and 7.4 discrepancy
Hours after the shaking stopped, one basic fact about the earthquake remained unsettled: how big it actually was.
Colombia's Geological Service (SGC) put out a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 for the quake, whose epicenter it located in San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, at a reported depth of 96 kilometers. But Univision reported a preliminary magnitude of 7.4, saying it was citing the same Colombian Geological Service. The two figures differ by 0.7 — a significant gap on the magnitude scale, where each whole step represents roughly 32 times more energy released.
The SGC has not publicly reconciled the numbers, and no final confirmed magnitude had been issued at the time of writing. Both figures remain preliminary.
Such divergence is common in the first hours after a major earthquake. Early magnitude estimates are calculated automatically from the first seismic waves to reach monitoring stations, and they are routinely revised — sometimes more than once — as more data arrives from a wider network of sensors and seismologists refine their analysis. Deep earthquakes, like this one at a reported 96 kilometers, can be especially prone to initial discrepancies between measurement methods.
For now, Colombians have two official-sounding numbers for the same event, and no definitive answer.
Bogotá empties onto the streets as alarms sound
In the capital, the morning tremor set off alarms across the city. According to reports, alarms were activated in numerous residential complexes, and residents evacuated their buildings to designated gathering points. In affected areas, people left homes and offices and went out into the streets, a scene repeated in neighborhoods across Bogotá as the shaking was felt.
The evacuation was orderly by most accounts, with residents following established protocols and assembling at meeting points while they waited for information. Authorities said they were maintaining monitoring to determine whether the earthquake had caused damage or affected people, according to those reports.
Amid the confusion, claims circulated that a bridge in the north of the city had been damaged. The director of the Urban Development Institute (IDU), Orlando Molano, moved to deny them. He stated that the vehicular structure at the intersection of Calle 116 and Carrera 9ª suffered no damage, directly rejecting the reports of a compromised bridge, according to his statement.
The capital sits against the Eastern Hills, the natural boundary that forms part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, a setting that leaves the city acutely sensitive to seismic events elsewhere in the country. On this morning, the tremor was enough to empty buildings and fill the streets, even as officials worked to establish whether any real harm had been done.
Evacuations in Barranquilla, damage reported in Cali and Manizales
The earthquake's impact extended well beyond the capital. In Barranquilla, on the Caribbean coast, several prominent buildings were evacuated as a precaution after occupants felt strong seismic movement, according to local reports. Among them were Torre Manzur, Torres del Atlántico, and Center Field, with occupants leaving the structures while the situation was assessed.
More serious accounts came from the interior. Reports indicated significant damage to buildings in the cities of Cali and Manizales, though the full extent of that damage was not immediately clear. Neither figure for injuries nor a detailed accounting of affected structures had been confirmed in those cities at the time of the initial reports.
In Chocó, the department where the epicenter was located, the governor reported injuries in the provincial capital, Quibdó. The number of people hurt and the severity of their injuries were not specified.
The accounts from Barranquilla, Cali, Manizales, and Quibdó all remained preliminary, drawn from early reporting as events were still unfolding. Colombian authorities said they were maintaining monitoring across the affected regions to determine whether the earthquake had caused damage or harmed people, and had not yet released consolidated figures covering the country as a whole.
Colombia's recent seismic history, from Paratebueno to Chocó
The August 10 earthquake was not Colombia's first significant tremor in recent months. On June 8, 2025, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck near the town of Paratebueno in Cundinamarca department, the region surrounding the capital. That quake injured at least 31 people and served as a reminder of the seismic exposure facing central Colombia.
Bogotá itself sits in terrain shaped by the country's geology. The Eastern Hills form the capital's eastern natural boundary and are part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, a high plateau within the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The city lies in a mountainous, seismically active zone where strong shaking from distant epicenters can be felt sharply, as Monday's tremor demonstrated.
The briefing material points to a pattern of recurring seismic activity across the country. Within little more than a year, Colombia recorded damaging earthquakes in two distinct regions: Cundinamarca in June 2025 and Chocó in August 2026. That the Chocó quake was felt from Bogotá to Cartagena, and reportedly as far as Panama, underscores how widely seismic energy travels across Colombian territory. The country's geological service maintains continuous monitoring of these conditions, reflecting the persistent earthquake risk Colombians live with.
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck near Paratebueno in Colombia's Cundinamarca department, injuring at least 31 people.
Colombia's Geological Service raised its alert level from yellow to orange after significant changes in several monitored parameters.
A strong earthquake struck Colombia at about 7:34 a.m. local time, with its epicenter in San José del Palmar, Chocó, at a depth of 96 kilometers.
Preliminary magnitude estimates diverged: the SGC reported 6.7, while Univision cited the Colombian Geological Service for a preliminary 7.4.
Shaking was felt in Bogotá, Cartagena, and other Colombian cities, with additional reports from Panama and the southern Chocó region.
In Bogotá, alarms sounded in numerous residential complexes and residents evacuated buildings to gathering points.
Residents in affected areas left buildings and went out into the streets following the shaking.
Several Barranquilla buildings, including Torre Manzur, Torres del Atlántico, and Center Field, were evacuated as a precaution.
Serious building damage was reported in Cali and Manizales, and Chocó's governor reported injuries in Quibdó.
Colombian authorities said they were maintaining monitoring to determine whether the earthquake caused damage or affected people.
IDU director Orlando Molano said the vehicular structure at Calle 116 and Carrera 9ª in Bogotá suffered no damage, denying claims of a damaged bridge.
An orange alert raised nine days before the quake
Nine days before the earthquake struck, Colombia's Geological Service had already moved the country to a higher state of readiness. According to reports, on August 1, 2026, the SGC raised its alert level from yellow to orange after detecting what it described as significant changes in several monitored parameters.
The orange level is the second-highest rung on the agency's alert scale, signalling that conditions warrant closer scrutiny and preparedness. The decision put monitoring teams and civil authorities on notice more than a week before the August 10 tremor.
What those parameters were, and how sharply they changed, has not been disclosed. The SGC has not specified which measurements prompted the escalation, and officials have not said whether the orange alert is connected to the earthquake that followed. No link between the two events has been established, and the agency has not publicly drawn one. Whether the alert anticipated the quake or reflected unrelated activity remains an open question.
What authorities are watching and what remains unknown
Colombian authorities said they were maintaining monitoring to determine whether the earthquake caused damage or affected people, according to reports. That assessment was still in progress as the first accounts came in, and much remains unresolved.
The final magnitude has not been confirmed. The Servicio Geológico Colombiano reported a preliminary 6.7, while Univision cited the same agency for a figure of 7.4; the SGC's revised measurement will settle the discrepancy.
The human toll is also unclear. Chocó's governor reported injuries in Quibdó, but no consolidated count of casualties, or their severity, has been released. Whether anyone was killed remains unknown.
The same applies to the physical damage. Serious harm to buildings was reported in Cali and Manizales, yet the full extent across the affected regions has not been established.
Readers should watch for the SGC's final magnitude reading, official casualty and damage figures from the national government, and the outcome of the monitoring operation authorities said was under way.
Frequently asked questions
When was the earthquake in Bogotá today?
A strong earthquake struck Colombia on Monday, August 10, 2026, at approximately 7:34 a.m. local time, according to Colombia's Geological Service (SGC). Reports indicate the epicenter was in San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, at a depth of 96 kilometers. The shaking was felt in Bogotá, Cartagena, and other cities, with additional reports from Panama.
What magnitude was the earthquake in Colombia?
Preliminary figures diverged. Colombia's Geological Service (SGC) reported a preliminary magnitude of 6.7, while Univision cited the same agency for a preliminary magnitude of 7.4. A final confirmed magnitude had not been established at the time of reporting, and authorities said they were continuing to monitor the situation.
Where was the epicenter of the Colombia earthquake?
The epicenter was located in San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, in western Colombia, according to reports. The earthquake occurred at a reported depth of 96 kilometers. Despite the distance, the tremor was felt strongly in Bogotá and in several other cities across the country.
Was there damage in Bogotá from the earthquake?
In Bogotá, alarms were activated in numerous residential complexes and residents evacuated buildings to gathering points. However, the director of the Urban Development Institute (IDU), Orlando Molano, said the vehicular structure at Calle 116 and Carrera 9ª suffered no damage, denying claims that a bridge was damaged. No major damage in the capital was confirmed in the briefing.
Were there injuries or damage from the Colombia earthquake?
According to reports, serious damage to buildings was reported in Cali and Manizales, and the governor of Chocó reported injuries in Quibdó. In Barranquilla, several buildings, including Torre Manzur, Torres del Atlántico, and Center Field, were evacuated as a precaution. Colombian authorities said they were maintaining monitoring to determine the full extent of damage and affected people.
Compiled from reporting by 11 independent outlets. How we source our reporting.
