Espriella leads quake response after Bogota tremor kills 111

President Abelardo De La Espriella canceled all official events Thursday to personally lead emergency response after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake rocked Bogotá, killing at least 111 people and injuring hundreds more.

The quake struck at 12:04 p.m. local time, centered 50 miles southwest of Colombia’s capital near the town of Fusagasugá. It collapsed buildings, severed power lines, and triggered landslides that blocked roads into the city. Colombia’s geology ministry said the tremor was the strongest in the region since 1999, when a 6.2-magnitude quake near Armenia killed nearly 1,200. Bogotá’s soft soil amplified the shaking, worsening damage to older structures not built to modern seismic codes. President Espriella, sworn in just two weeks ago, faces his first major crisis as national leader.

More than 400 people were taken to hospitals across Bogotá, with shortages reported at several facilities due to power cuts and damage. Rescue teams from the Red Cross and national disaster agency are using drones and thermal cameras to locate survivors trapped in rubble. Neighboring countries including Ecuador and Venezuela have pledged medical supplies and search-and-rescue teams. Engineers warn aftershocks could topple weakened buildings, forcing evacuations in parts of the city’s historic center.

Espriella will chair an emergency cabinet meeting Friday to approve rebuilding funds and temporary housing. He has called for a national day of mourning Saturday and urged businesses to donate to relief efforts. Colombia’s disaster fund, set up after the 1999 quake, is nearly empty, forcing the government to seek international loans. The crisis tests Espriella’s leadership just as peace talks with armed groups are resuming, raising fears delays could fuel unrest in rural areas still recovering from decades of conflict.