Colombia earthquake: UN joins national response

Hundreds have been injured and the country's newly elected president said on Tuesday that more than 180 have died due to Monday’s 7.4 magnitude quake, which flattened homes and buildings in the west of the country and caused landslides.

“Nearly 5,000 homes have been damaged and 387 have been destroyed; 61 buildings have collapsed and more than 550 educational institutions, 24 health facilities and more than 350 community centres have [been] affected,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.

“Those are official Government figures, we know they are being updated," he added.

The United Nations is redirecting resources, moving pre-positioned emergency supplies and deploying additional staff to areas impacted, said UN Resident Coordinator in Colombia, María José Torres Macho, briefing UN correspondents on Tuesday. 

The Government has asked the UN to complement the national response, with initial priorities including temporary shelter, health, food security and protection.

She said the UN was moving quickly, including by providing emergency kits already stored in country and World Food Programme logistics capacity, that can be used by the wider humanitarian community. 

Particular attention is being paid to families who have lost their homes, as well as women and children in vulnerable communities. 

Drawing on lessons from the recent earthquake response in Venezuela, the UN is looking at how to ensure pregnant women and young children are reached from the outset, including through possible mobile units for remote areas. 

The Resident Coordinator said the speed of the response also reflects the UN’s existing presence in affected regions and close coordination with Colombian institutions. “We were called upon immediately to be part of the response,” she said.

Watch her briefing via videolink in full below:

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) cited official Colombian data from late Monday indicating that damage has been reported in 24 health facilities across six departments. 

Valle del Cauca department experienced the “most significant health infrastructure impacts” and particularly the city of Cali, said WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic. Key facilities affected include Hospital Universitario del Valle, where part of a tower housing cardiology and paediatric services collapsed, and Clinica Nuestra, which was fully evacuated.

“Our office in the country in Colombia activated its emergency response and its field teams and teams have been deployed to affected areas, including Cali and Chocó, to support health sector assessment and coordination,” Mr. Jasarevic said, briefing journalist in Geneva.

The earthquake struck at around 7:34am local time, with its epicentre near San José del Palmar, in Chocó department, close to Valle del Cauca.

The tremor was felt across large parts of Colombia and in neighbouring countries, including Panama, Ecuador and Venezuela.

According to the Colombian Geological Service, the quake’s epicentre was at a depth of about 103 kilometres (64 miles), and was the largest seismic event recorded in the country this century.

Pereira, a city of around 500,000, lies about 35 miles from the epicentre. As emergency teams search for survivors, the city’s mayor reported 18 dead there late Monday.

In Cali, the country’s third largest city, authorities reported multiple landslides with people trapped and requested reinforcements for rescue operations.

Damage has also affected transport infrastructure including at six airports closed for inspections: Quibdó, Pereira, Manizales, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura. Popayán airport in Cauca is operating with restrictions owing to an unrelated alert for the possible eruption of the Puracé volcano.

The Government has activated emergency coordination centres in Bogotá, Quibdó, Armenia and Cali, while authorities continue rescue operations and assessments.

Evacuation orders were issued as far away as the capital, Bogotá, which is 250 miles east of San José del Palmar.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is monitoring the situation and coordinating with partners and national authorities to assess needs and support affected children and adolescents, while the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is working with government institutions to help analyse damage and needs.

Miroslav Jenča, the head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, expressed solidarity with victims and affected communities, particularly in Chocó, Eje Cafetero and Valle del Cauca, and said the Mission was available to support the authorities’ response.