Earthquake response strains Colombia’s new government and rescuers as they race against the clock

earthquake response strains Colombia’s new government and rescuers as they race against the clock 0 seconds of 44 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? 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(AP video shot by: Juan Diaz) More Videos 0 seconds of 20 secondsVolume 90% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Colombia’s new president takes office in ceremony in Cali highlighting hard line on armed groups 00:59 Auto1080p1080p720p540p360p270p180p 00:00 00:20 00:20 More Videos Close 2 of 6 | Applause rang out as rescuers pulled a 32-year-old woman from the ruins of a collapsed building in the Colombian city of Pereira on Tuesday where she had been trapped for 36 hours. (AP video shot by: Marko Alvarez) 3 of 6 | Rescue workers carry Diana Troncoso after pulling her from the rubble the day after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia) CORRECTION: Changes city to Cali, not Pereira. 4 of 6 | Patients from a clinic evacuated due to earthquake damage lie in beds at a temporary facility set up in a gymnasium at a nearby school in Cali, Colombia, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga) 5 of 6 | Volunteers and rescue workers use buckets to remove debris of a collapsed building a day after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga) 6 of 6 | Neighbors embrace as rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed apartment building the day after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia) By ASTRID SUÁREZ, MEGAN JANETSKY and Marko Alvarez Updated 7:10 AM MESZ, August 12, 2026 Leer en español Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Pereira, Colombia (AP) — The search for life in the rubble of Colombia’s powerful earthquake grew more desperate on Wednesday as search teams pushed up against a key time threshold to locate survivors with signs of life. The devastation has tested Colombia’s new President Abelardo de la Espriella and his government as it scrambles to respond to the natural disaster and civil society as it pushes to provide aid to the vulnerable communities most affected by the quake. By Tuesday, de la Espriella said the 7.4 magnitude earthquake had killed at least 181 people and left 2,595 more injured in the west of the country. He said at least 195 remained missing, but civilian-run databases put that number closer to 4,000. Teams continued to pick through the rubble overnight in the hardest-hit cities of Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo, as time ticked away for victims to be found — and rescued — alive. Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours crucial for retrieving survivors, though that threshold can be extended if they have access to food and water. Small successes have broken through the flattened buildings: rescuers pulling a dust-covered baby through a crack in a concrete wall and onlookers cheering as teams lift a woman onto a stretcher. In many areas, the official response to the devastation has been complicated by the ongoing crises of deep poverty and civil warfare that has forced displacement for decades. As search for thousands of missing pushes on, Colombia earthquake tests new president 2 MIN READ Magnitude 7.4 quake rocks western Colombia, killing at least 111 people 4 MIN READ Colombia’s new president takes office in ceremony in Cali highlighting hard line on armed groups 4 MIN READ “This earthquake compounds an already severe humanitarian situation, and there is a need for increased support for the humanitarian response,” said Giovanni Rizzo, Colombia director for the Norwegian Refugee Council. A 2016 peace accord between rebels and the government along with an ongoing armed conflict may allow aid organizations to distribute food and other emergency materials more quickly, said María José Torres, the U.N. resident coordinator in Colombia. Aid organizations are already in place in some conflict-torn centers because of the peace process, including Choco at the epicenter of the quake. “We have a presence on the ground. Therefore, our ability to be there, present with the people, I think, has increased exponentially,” Torres said in a statement Tuesday. At the same time, aid from other countries and nonprofits abroad continued to roll in. The U.S. has offered over $15 million in aid and Mexico’s president said she is prepared to send hundreds of search and health workers, tons of health supplies and other equipment. On Tuesday afternoon, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said his country would send two planes loaded with 100 tons of aid in the coming days. “Our prayers are with the families of the victims, the wounded and all the Colombian people,” Bukele wrote on X. Suarez reported from Bogota, Colombia, and Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Manuel Rueda in Bogota contributed. MEGAN JANETSKY Megan Janetsky covers migration, conflict, human rights and politics in Mexico and Central America for The AP based in Mexico City. Previously, she covered Cuba and the Caribbean for The AP and worked as freelance journalist in Colombia, reporting across South America. twitter instagram facebook mailto