Colombia’s National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD) issued an updated report on Wednesday, August 26, confirming that the number of people killed by this week’s earthquake has risen. The agency also revised figures for the injured and those still unaccounted for, though it did not release exact numbers in the portion of the report reviewed.
Emergency teams remain active across three regions hit hardest by the quake: the Pacific coastal department of Chocó, the so-called Eje Cafetero or Coffee Region in central Colombia, and Valle del Cauca on the country’s southwest coast. Search-and-rescue operations and damage assessments are ongoing, even as some of the most affected communities begin shifting toward the recovery phase.
Officials say the coming weeks will focus on restoring basic living conditions for displaced residents, a process expected to pose significant logistical challenges given the scale of destruction. Local infrastructure has also been affected; in a related development, soccer club Deportivo Pereira announced it will need to find a temporary venue after its stadium sustained damage in an earlier tremor on August 10.
Authorities have urged residents in the affected zones to follow official guidance as assessments continue and to report any missing persons or unsafe structures to emergency hotlines.
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