Colombia earthquake: Rescue teams focus on recovering bodies as reconstruction planning begins

One week after a powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia, emergency response efforts have shifted focus to recovering victims' bodies from the debris. Rescue teams are now concentrating on this grim task as authorities begin planning the reconstruction of devastated areas. The National Unit for Disaster Risk Management reported 289 fatalities as of Sunday, a slight decrease attributed to cross-referencing initial reports with official records to avoid duplication. The disaster also left 4,187 people injured and 143 missing, though 354 individuals have been successfully rescued.

The earthquake's impact has been widespread, causing extensive damage to infrastructure. A total of 127,557 homes have been reported as damaged, with 26,945 completely destroyed. Additionally, 66 buildings have collapsed, affecting 450 municipalities across 15 departments of the country. Cali, one of the most severely impacted cities, is witnessing intense efforts by emergency teams to retrieve bodies from collapsed structures, including the Torres del Limonar residential complex where 25 bodies have already been recovered.

International assistance is playing a crucial role in the recovery operations. Joint efforts involving firefighters from Cali, Bogotá, and Jamundí, along with rescue groups from the Navy, Police, and specialists from the Israeli Defense Forces, are underway. Israeli teams have recovered four bodies in the past 24 hours, cautioning that the window for finding survivors is rapidly closing after several days without live rescues.

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se está cerrando la ventana de esperanza de encontrar sobrevivientes

As operations surpass 140 hours, authorities in Cali are transitioning towards a phase of victim recovery and debris removal. Engineering and structural assessments of collapsed buildings continue. The mayor of Cali, Alejandro Eder, estimates that the city will require approximately 10 trillion pesos (about $3.2 billion) and three years to stabilize and undertake resilient reconstruction. He has proposed an exceptional financing mechanism, similar to one used after the 1999 earthquake that devastated Armenia and other coffee region cities.

Meanwhile, rural areas are voicing urgent needs. Farmers in remote parts of Valle del Cauca reported to EFE that they are still awaiting official assessment of their homes, many of which are severely damaged. Families have resorted to placing 'SOS Help' flags outside their homes, pleading for reconstruction materials. The acting mayor of El Cairo acknowledged that the rural census is incomplete due to the concentrated focus on urban areas.

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Ayuda, SOS