7.4 magnitude earthquake strikes Colombia’s poorest region

Bogota, Colombia, August 10, 2026 - A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia earlier today, leaving at least 110 people dead and nearly 100 injured. International Rescue Committee (IRC) staff near the epicenter in Chocó are all confirmed safe, but are reporting damages to infrastructure, including to hospitals and clinics, as well as life-threatening gaps in access to health care, shelter, and basic needs.

This earthquake comes on the heels of two powerful earthquakes in neighboring Venezuela earlier this summer, compounding already significant humanitarian needs in the region. Colombia is on the IRC's 2026 Emergency Watchlist, cataloguing the crises most at risk of deterioration in the coming year, as escalating internal conflict continues to displace local communities and many of the nearly 3 millions Venezuelans hosted in Colombia.

Nicole Kast, Country Director for Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, said: "Local communities were already facing armed conflict and high levels of poverty long before the ground began to shake. Chocó, at the epicenter of the quake, is thepoorest region in the country. We are deeply concerned that today's natural disaster will make the needs on the ground even steeper as people lose access to health care and other essential services. We remain ready to deploy an emergency response as the scale of need becomes more clear."

The IRC has been delivering essential, life-saving services to communities in Colombia since 2018. Our teams work with local partners to address urgent health, protection, education, and livelihood needs for people affected by violence, displacement and natural disasters. We are prepared to expand our emergency response operations as conditions require. In 2025, the IRC reached over 20,000 people in Colombia with vital humanitarian assistance.