After the 7.4 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale that shook the west of Colombia yesterday, the General Consulate of Spain in Bogotá and the honorary consulates it maintains in the area —those in Cali, Medellín, and Manizales mainly— are conducting follow-up to determine if there are any Spaniards affected by the tremor that has left at least 130 dead, according to information provided by Colombian authorities at the close of this edition.
The General Consulate provided yesterday through social media the emergency phone line 123 for emergencies, as well as the consular emergency phone (+57 316 4733216, only for Spaniards) and the Consulate’s email (cog.bogota@maec.es).
The earthquake occurred near the town of San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, in the northwest of Colombia.
So far, the official figures —provided by Abelardo de la Espriella himself— indicate that there have been 111 dead, 87 injured, 1,575 damaged homes, 37 destroyed homes, 61 collapsed buildings, 18 damaged health centers, 52 damaged educational centers, 18 damaged roads, and six affected airports.
President De la Espriella, who took office last Friday in Cali, traveled urgently yesterday from Barranquilla to the unified command post in Bogotá, where he approved the declaration of national disaster.
This declaration will allow the new Colombian government to move resources more immediately to assist those affected by the disaster, but it is not a declaration of national emergency, which would allow it to approve decrees with the force of law.
Some congressmen from his party have asked the president to declare the state of economic and social emergency now.
Meanwhile, Bogotá has opened six collection points to receive donations for the cities most affected by the earthquake this Monday in Colombia. “We need: drinking water, blankets, mats, non-perishable food, personal hygiene items, and first aid supplies,” reported the mayor of the Colombian capital, Carlos Fernando Galán, on his social media.