Rescue efforts were underway across western Colombia. In Cali, Mayor Alejando Eder said that emergency workers were focusing on finding people in debris from 10 collapsed buildings. Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán of Bogotá said the city was preparing to send rescue crews to hard-hit cities.
It is unclear how long people can survive trapped in rubble after an earthquake, researchers say. But some experts say that there is a 72-hour “golden” window in which the most lives can be saved.
How severe was the damage?
The quake damaged nearly 5,000 homes, with 387 destroyed, the U.N. humanitarian aid agency said, and 61 buildings collapsed.
Mr. De La Espriella said 18 health centers and 52 schools were also damaged.
In Cali, at least 26 buildings collapsed, trapping people inside, according to its mayor. In Calima El Darién, a town north of Cali, a hospital collapsed and another was overwhelmed with victims.