Four Injuries and Minor Material Damage in Colombia After 6.5 Magnitude Earthquake
Asphalt section of a broken road after the earthquake. Photo: X/ @Centinela_35
June 8, 2025 Hour: 1:42 pm
The magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck central Colombia on Sunday morning left at least four people injured and caused minor material damage in several municipalities of the department of Cundinamarca near the epicenter, the government reported.
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The tremor, which occurred at 08:08 local time (13:08 GMT), with its epicenter in the town of Paratebueno (Cundinamarca), in the center of the country, had a “shallow depth” of 10 kilometers, confirmed the Colombian Geological Service (SGC).
“We have four people injured, two in Paratebueno and two in Medina. These people have minor injuries and are being treated in local health centers,” said the director of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), Carlos Carrillo, at a press conference in Bogotá.
According to the official, the tremor was felt in 20 of the country’s 32 departments, but there are only reports of minor damage in Cundinamarca, whose capital is Bogotá, as well as in Meta and Caldas, all in central Colombia.
“Bogotá reports normality,” added Carrillo, citing the Mayor’s Office of the Colombian capital, where the earthquake forced thousands of people who were still sleeping to evacuate their homes, many of them dressed even in pajamas.
The director of the UNGRD added that in the municipalities of Paratebueno, Medina, Sibaté and Tocaima, all in Cundinamarca, there were collapses of walls without major consequences, and in Cumaral (Meta) and Pácora (Caldas), the tremor caused cracks in some homes.
Since the occurrence of the main earthquake and up to 10:55 a.m. (3:55 PM GMT), 138 aftershocks have been recorded, located in Paratebueno and its surroundings with different magnitudes, two aftershocks greater than 4 and ten aftershocks greater than 3.5, with depths of around 10 kilometers, explained the Colombian Geological Service.
The SGC warned that these aftershocks “may still continue to occur due to the energy that was released by the main earthquake. However, it is expected that with the passage of days the magnitude and frequency of these events will decrease.”
Source: EFE
