A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on August 10, 2026, killing at least 47 people and causing buildings to collapse across several cities, including Pereira, Manizales and areas of Valle del Cauca. The earthquake was centred near San José del Palmar in the Chocó region, about 400 kilometres west of Bogotá, and occurred at a depth of about 107 kilometres. The powerful tremor was also felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama.
The earthquake has also drawn attention to one of the deadliest earthquake disasters in the region. On August 15 and 16, 1868, two major earthquakes struck northern Ecuador near the Colombian border, causing severe destruction in northeastern Ecuador and southwestern Colombia. The events are generally referred to as the 1868 Ecuador earthquakes.
What happened in August 1868?
The first major earthquake struck on August 15, 1868, near El Ángel in Ecuador's Carchi Province, close to the Colombian border. Ecuador's Geophysical Institute estimates that the earthquake had a magnitude of about 6.3.
Another much more destructive earthquake struck in the early hours of August 16, with its epicentre near Ibarra in Ecuador's Imbabura Province. Ecuador's Geophysical Institute estimates the main earthquake at magnitude 7.0 to 7.3, based on the distribution of reported intensities.
