Strong earthquake hits Bogota, measuring 6.3 magnitude

A violent, shallow 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit the Colombian city of Bogota early Sunday, according to AFP sources and the US Geological Survey.

According to the USGS, the shallow earthquake occurred around 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of Bogota, in central Colombia, close to the city of Paratebueno.

The tremor, which was felt in towns including Medellin, Cali, and Manizales, did not immediately result in any reported casualties.

Buildings in Bogota trembled, sirens sounded, and people hurried into the streets as social media users shared footage of swinging lights and furniture, however AFP was unable to confirm the photos right away.

Scores of people gathered in parks and outside buildings in their pajamas, with parents trying to calm frightened children and others looking for pets that had run away.

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Many were afraid to go back inside.

“It was a big scare,” said 54-year-old Carlos Alberto Ruiz, who left his apartment with his wife, son and dog.

“It’s been a while since we felt it this strong here in Bogota,” said Francisco Gonzalez, a lawyer who also fled his home.

“This was very strong,” said one elderly lady trying to make her way down several flights of steps.

Bogota’s security department said on X that emergency workers were conducting a sweep of the city to look for damage and provide assistance.

Bogota’s mayor Carlos Fernando Galan said all disaster agencies had been activated.

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Central Colombia is in a zone of high seismic activity. A 6.2 magnitude quake there in 1999, not far from Ansermanuevo, claimed nearly 1,200 lives.

The country is on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity where tectonic plates collide that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin to South America.