Devastating earthquake in Colombia: damage estimated at $9.6 billion
The damage from the earthquake that struck Colombia on August 10 is estimated at 30 trillion pesos (approximately $9.6 billion).
This was announced by the country's president, Abelardo de la Espriella, TASS reports.
"A private firm calculated the direct material damage in Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, Quindío, and Caldas at close to 30 trillion pesos, of which 24.5 trillion is accounted for by buildings ($7.8 billion — editor's note) and 5.5 trillion ($1.8 billion — editor's note) by infrastructure. These are preliminary figures," he noted in his address.
The president added that although in absolute figures the damage in the department of Chocó is less than in other areas, proportionally it is the most significant.
According to the latest data, 289 people did not survive the earthquake, 4,187 were injured, and 142 people are listed as missing. A total of 26,945 homes were destroyed and 127,557 were damaged. To provide assistance, 138 foreign rescuers from the United States, Ecuador, and Israel arrived in the country.
The magnitude 7.4 earthquake occurred near the city of San José del Palmar in the department of Chocó in western Colombia.
