Colombia’s Strongest 21st-Century Earthquake Dealt Less Severe Damage Than Venezuela’s Recent Temblors, Experts Say

Colombia experienced its most powerful earthquake of the 21st century on Monday, according to the country’s Geological Service. The seismic event struck as neighboring Venezuela continued managing the aftermath of devastating tremors that had recently struck the coastal region of La Guaira.

Dean Whitman, a geophysicist at Florida International University in Miami-Dade County, emphasized that the timing and proximity of the earthquakes in both nations were entirely coincidental. He stated that the two seismic events occurred within fundamentally different geological systems with no causal relationship between them.

Venezuela’s recent earthquakes resulted in catastrophic losses, with 6,300 deaths, approximately 60,000 injuries, and an estimated $37 billion in damages. Whitman projected that Colombia’s earthquake would produce significantly fewer casualties and less property destruction because the tremor originated at a greater depth beneath the earth’s surface.

As of Monday night, Colombia’s official casualty count stood at a minimum of 132 dead and 570 injured. In Medellin, resident Laura Alvarez described feeling the building’s structural components shift during the tremor while she was in an eighth-floor downtown apartment, hearing loud creaking sounds throughout the structure.

In Bogotá, Colombia’s high-altitude capital, Daniel Castellanos recounted being jolted awake in his bed as the earthquake caused violent movement. He said opening his eyes revealed his bed shaking beneath him as the seismic waves passed through the city.