A powerful earthquake in western Colombia has caused widespread structural damage and disruption, creating potential losses across property, business interruption, aviation and life insurance portfolios.
The magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck at 7:34 a.m. local time on August 10 near San José del Palmar in Chocó, on Colombia’s Pacific side. The Colombian Geological Service recorded the earthquake at a depth of approximately 103 kilometers.
At least 22 people had been confirmed dead by Monday afternoon, according to Reuters, although the toll was expected to rise as emergency workers searched collapsed buildings. Pereira, a city in Colombia’s coffee-growing region, accounted for 18 of the reported deaths. Fatalities were also recorded in Manizales and Buenaventura.
Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, was among the areas reporting extensive physical damage. Local authorities said approximately 25 buildings had collapsed, while video and photographs from other affected cities showed heavily damaged homes, commercial properties and public buildings.
In Manizales, footage showed the collapsed spire of a church and deep fissures in the façade of a nearby building. Authorities also reported people trapped beneath rubble, prompting the deployment of rescue teams from other Colombian cities.
The earthquake was felt hundreds of kilometers from its epicenter. Buildings were evacuated in Bogotá, where residents reported prolonged shaking and trees and traffic lights moved violently. Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said the capital had received reports of cracks in buildings, but no serious damage to major infrastructure had initially been identified.
Damage at regional airports could add to the event’s economic impact and complicate emergency operations. Colombia’s aviation authority reported problems at airports serving Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura. Some terminals were temporarily closed for inspections, according to emerging reports.
The combination of collapsed buildings and transport disruption is likely to generate claims across several insurance lines. Property losses may involve residential, commercial and public-sector buildings, while engineering assessments will be required to determine whether structures that remain standing can be safely occupied.
Business interruption claims may also emerge where insured physical damage forces companies to suspend operations. Policy response will depend on earthquake coverage, waiting periods, deductibles and the wording attached to individual programs.
Interruption caused solely by access restrictions or utility failures may be treated differently from disruption resulting directly from damage at an insured location.
Airport closures and damage to transport infrastructure could create additional exposures for aviation operators, concession holders, logistics companies and businesses dependent on regional supply routes. The affected coffee-growing region also contains agricultural, processing and export operations that may face delays even where facilities escaped major structural damage.
Loss adjusters will need to distinguish between cosmetic cracking and damage affecting the integrity of buildings; however, this work may take time while rescue operations continue and authorities monitor aftershock risk. Access limitations in Chocó and other heavily affected areas could also slow inspections and the collection of claims information.
No reliable estimate of total economic or insured losses was available in the immediate aftermath. Early building-collapse figures also remained preliminary, and the scale of damage could change as municipalities complete inspections.
The disaster follows twin earthquakes that struck neighboring Venezuela less than two months earlier, killing more than 6,100 people.
It also follows smaller earthquake in Alaska two days earlier. A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck a remote area of Southcentral Alaska at 8:50 p.m. local time on August 7, approximately 43 miles northwest of Skwentna and 107 miles northwest of Anchorage, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center.
The shallow Alaska earthquake occurred at a depth of about 6.2 miles and was felt in Anchorage, Hope and Kenai. No tsunami warning, advisory, watch or threat was issued, and there were no immediate reports of significant damage or casualties.
