Magnitude 5.1 earthquake shakes Colombia, prompts evacuations in Bogotá and Bucaramanga
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Colombia on Wednesday, triggering evacuations in Bogotá and Bucaramanga, though no casualties or damage have been reported. The tremor came just 16 days after a major quake that killed over 300 people.
Colombia was shaken by another earthquake on Wednesday, with tremors felt across several central and northeastern parts of the country, including the capital, Bogotá. The event occurred only 16 days after a much larger, magnitude 7.4 earthquake that claimed the lives of more than 300 people.
An initial assessment put the new tremor's magnitude at 5.4 on the Richter scale, with a depth of 140 kilometres. The Colombian Geological Survey (SGC) later revised those figures, settling on a magnitude of 5.1 and a depth of 149 kilometres.
According to the SGC, the quake struck at around 11:45 am local time on Wednesday, centred near Los Santos in Colombia's Santander department. Shaking was reported throughout the region, including in Bucaramanga, Piedecuesta and Floridablanca, as well as in Bogotá.
In the capital, alarms sounded and several buildings were evacuated as a precaution, while authorities in Bucaramanga likewise ordered preventive evacuations. So far, no injuries, deaths or structural damage have been linked to the quake.
