Country: Colombia
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Please refer to the attached file.
1. Situation Overview
On 10 August 2026, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia, with its epicentre in San JosĂ© del Palmar, ChocĂł department, severely affecting the central and western regions of the country. The earthquake occurred at 7:34 a.m. and was followed by sustained seismic activity. As of 12 August, 103 aftershocks had been recorded, including six with a magnitude greater than 3 and one with a magnitude greater than 4, all located in San JosĂ© del Palmar. The most severe impacts have been concentrated in the departments of Risaralda, Valle del Cauca, ChocĂł, and Caldas, with additional damage reported in Antioquia, QuindĂo, Cundinamarca, Huila, Tolima, Cauca, Putumayo, Norte de Santander, and BolĂvar, bringing the total reported impact area to 15 departments and 472 municipalities.
The earthquake has caused significant loss of life, displacement risks, and substantial damage to housing and essential infrastructure. According to official data, at least 186,182 people, equivalent to 121,470 families, have been affected, including people who have died, been injured, or gone missing, as well as people whose homes, services, and livelihoods have been disrupted. According to the most recent reports as of 17 August, 304 people had lost their lives and 4,400 had been injured. Damage to housing is extensive: 134.341 homes have been affected and 29.554 have been destroyed, leaving many families without safe conditions to return home and increasing needs for temporary shelter, essential household items, water, and protection services.
The impact extends beyond housing and affects the public services that communities depend on to recover and stabilize their living conditions. Reports indicate that 267 residential buildings collapsed. In addition, 3,443 educational institutions, 303 health facilities, and 3.905 community centres have been affected, while 86 water supply systems have sustained damage. Additionally, 413 roads have been affected across the country. Electricity, safe water, health, and connectivity services remain disrupted or are functioning intermittently in several cities. These impacts are slowing assessments, hindering access to affected areas, and increasing risks for families already exposed to aftershocks, unsafe structures, and limited access to basic services.
Response operations began immediately under the leadership of the National Government and the National Disaster Risk Management System (SNGRD). Search and rescue activities remain ongoing and have enabled the rescue of 338 people, while authorities continue to provide immediate assistance and consolidate information through the Crisis Room. The National Disaster Management Committee is coordinating actions with national, departmental, and municipal entities, and Unified Command Posts (PMUs) remain active to monitor impacts, prioritize needs, and guide operational decisions.
Humanitarian partners are rapidly scaling up complementary support to address the most urgent gaps in the Government-led response. United Nations agencies and international, national, and local nongovernmental organizations have begun pre-positioning capacities and deploying teams to the most affected areas, particularly QuibdĂł, Cali and Buenaventura, Risaralda, and Caldas. The Health; Shelter and Settlements; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; Food Security; Protection; and Education clusters of the Humanitarian Country Team have been activated and are coordinating sectoral response efforts with national and local counterparts.
Rapid assessments continue to expand in order to clarify needs and guide response priorities. Humanitarian partners continue deploying teams, pre-positioning capacities, and supporting sectoral analyses in the most affected areas, while significant information gaps persist in rural and hard-to-reach municipalities. In addition to the earthquake, communities in Cauca department are facing humanitarian impacts related to gas and ash emissions resulting from increased volcanic activity at the Puracé volcano.
Likewise, in Casanare department, severe flooding has affected more than 40,000 people over the past month. This situation is compounded by wildfires in some areas as part of the drought that is beginning to emerge in the context of the development of the El Niño phenomenon. Separately, public security force operations have increased under the new government’s security policy, mainly in departments that are generating a double humanitarian impact for some communities, particularly in the Pacific region of the country.
Given the scale and severity of the emergency, additional resources are being mobilized by humanitarian donors to enable a rapid, multisectoral response focused on saving lives and addressing the most immediate needs. In support of the initial response, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, announced a USD 5 million allocation from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). These funds will help humanitarian partners strengthen urgent assistance while assessments continue and response priorities are adjusted in coordination with national authorities.