Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said at least 181 people died in the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck Monday. He said around 2,595 more were injured and at least 195 remained missing. Civilian-run databases suggest the number of missing could be as high as 3,800.
De la Espriella also said 1,136 homes were destroyed and yet more damaged.
Authorities said the deaths were concentrated in cities including Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo, but local leaders and families worried about casualties and damage in rural areas, from where very little information has emerged.
Soldiers, rescue personnel and families picked through the rubble on Tuesday, passing large pieces of concrete by hand along lines of volunteers.
Standing near the remains of his brother’s collapsed apartment building in Pereira, Jairo Vargas said he made the 220-kilometer drive from Medellin, hoping to find him alive.
“I’m absolutely certain he’s here. Absolutely certain," Vargas said, adding that his brother’s car was still parked outside. But he fears his sibling did not survive.
“The debris surrounding my brother is soft,” he said, as heavy machinery rumbled through the debris. “It’s possible that it’s protecting him, but we can’t hear any noises anymore. I don’t know. I have little hope.”
Families posted information about missing loved ones on citizen-run websites.
Dana Carolina Zamora posted an image of her missing 60-year-old uncle, Miguel Ángel Zamora, cradling his dog. The farmer was living in a rural area of El Cairo, not far from the quake's epicenter in San Jose Del Palmar.
Local authorities said 80% of El Cairo, a town of about 7,000 people, was damaged. Zamora said her uncle lived in a traditional house of sticks and mud.
“We are afraid. We hope that is not the case, that he is all right and that it is only a communication failure. But we haven’t heard anything from him,” Zamora said.
The earthquake left many people unnerved after back-to-back quakes devastated neighboring Venezuela in late June, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing more than 6,300 people.
Mónica Sánchez owns a small company that makes work uniforms. Her home city, Pereira, was one of the worst hit, and a wall inside the factory collapsed. Sánchez and her 12 workers got outside just in time.
“It was shocking — the city fell down around us,” she said.
Pereira’s municipal government said at least 58 buildings collapsed, while Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said at least 40 buildings had collapsed.
