HOPES of finding survivors are fading as rescue teams continue searching through the rubble following Colombia’s strongest earthquake, with the critical 72-hour window for locating people trapped alive now having passed.
AFP cited on Friday that official figures put the death toll to be around 273, while more than 3,800 people have been injured and about 377 remain missing.
The earthquake devastated the western cities of Cali and Pereira and damaged nearly 13,000 homes across Colombia’s coffee-growing region and coastal areas.
Thousands of families who lost almost everything are now sheltering in temporary tents set up along roads and in parks around Cali as authorities grapple with the scale of the disaster.
Among those displaced is Maria Rodriguez, 72, who lost the apartment she had spent a lifetime working to own.
Holding a cup of coffee, she looked sadly towards the remains of her home from a football field where she and her 76-year-old husband have been sleeping.
“We wonder what assistance we will receive or whether they will move us elsewhere, because this situation is expected to continue for a long time,” she said.
The 72-hour mark passed yesterday, a period widely regarded as the most critical for finding survivors trapped beneath collapsed structures.
People trapped near air pockets and sources of water, however, can sometimes survive beyond the conventional rescue window.
Search-and-rescue operations have therefore continued, with teams working through the night and only pausing briefly to listen for signs of life beneath the rubble.
“Miracles do happen, but at this stage, it is quite difficult to find people who are still alive,” a firefighter in Pereira said.
The Pacific coastal province of Choco was also severely affected, with several remote communities still awaiting assessment because rescue teams have yet to reach them.
The expanding number of temporary shelters around Cali reflects the growing humanitarian challenge as displaced families face the prospect of spending an extended period away from their homes.
Authorities are continuing rescue and recovery efforts while assessing damage in affected areas and searching for those still unaccounted for. - August 14, 2026
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