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Meteorologist: Colombia's 7.4 magnitude earthquake 'very rare' · INSIGHT TODAY

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  Speaker 1: The powerful seven point four magnitude earthquake has struck western Colombia.
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  Speaker 2: Well, hello, wow, it's terrifying.
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  Speaker 1: One official says there is severe damage to buildings you
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  Speaker 1: can only imagine seeing that video, and.
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  Speaker 3: That people are trapped.
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  Speaker 1: The mayor of one city says at least two people
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  Speaker 1: are dead there, and the US Geological Survey warns that
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  Speaker 1: the level of shaking could mean significant casualties. The epicenter
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  Speaker 1: was located about two hundred and fifty miles west of
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  Speaker 1: Colombia's capital, c A. Mdereologist Derek Beddam is keeping a
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  Speaker 1: close eye on this story. So, Derek, the initial quake
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  Speaker 1: was seven point four, what sort of aftershocks are we
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  Speaker 1: seeing here?
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  Speaker 4: We've already had after shocks of magnitude five point zero
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  Speaker 4: and greater. So what you're looking at now is one
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  Speaker 4: of six airports that have sustained damage from the original
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  Speaker 4: earthquake that magnitude seven point four.
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  Speaker 3: I'm gonna show.
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  Speaker 4: A series of videos because we're going to time tie
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  Speaker 4: all these pieces together. You're looking at Cali, Columbia, near
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  Speaker 4: the epicenter, and I want you to see all the
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  Speaker 4: dust in the background here from this elevated position, these
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  Speaker 4: are buildings that have sustained severe damage, if not full collapse,
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  Speaker 4: and there have been reports coming out of this region
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  Speaker 4: that at least twenty buildings have collapsed. Of course, people trapped.
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  Speaker 3: Under the rubble. That is not good news.
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  Speaker 4: And then we take you to the ground and this
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  Speaker 4: is what it looks like in Cali, Colombia, and you
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  Speaker 4: can see rescue efforts, first responders digging through the rubble
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  Speaker 4: amongst the aftershocks that are happening as we speak. So again,
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  Speaker 4: this is about two hundred and fifty miles west of Bogata.
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  Speaker 4: The epicenter was actually about one hundred kilometers below the surface.
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  Speaker 4: That's important. I'll tell you why in a minute, but
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  Speaker 4: let's talk about what the USGS does in these moments.
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  Speaker 4: They take previous earthquakes in similar tectonic plates and they
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  Speaker 4: can compare them with the magnitude and give an estimate
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  Speaker 4: on the potential number of fatalities. It's a grim subject
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  Speaker 4: of discuss but it's the reality we're facing. And they say,
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  Speaker 4: according to this analysis from the USGS, nearly one in
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  Speaker 4: three chants that there are over one thousand fatalities from
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  Speaker 4: this particular earthquake. This is an intermediately deep earthquake the epicenter.
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  Speaker 4: If it was near the surface, I would expect even
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  Speaker 4: more widespread damage than what we've seen. But regardless, we've
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  Speaker 4: got nearly two million people that have felt the very
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  Speaker 4: strong shaking from this powerful earthquake, and we expect after
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  Speaker 4: shocks to continue. In fact, on average, we see with
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  Speaker 4: a seven point four original earthquake, we have on average
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  Speaker 4: about ten five point oh or greater after shocks. Maybe
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  Speaker 4: even a six point oho or greater after shock, that
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  Speaker 4: is certainly possible. These types of earthquakes and this power
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  Speaker 4: are very rare. We only get about fifteen of them
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  Speaker 4: worldwide per year, and of course anything above an eight
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  Speaker 4: point zero that is very very rare. But going back
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  Speaker 4: to these videos, Panela terrifying moments. We have reports of
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  Speaker 4: damage to airports, so that's infrastructure, of course, buildings that
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  Speaker 4: have collapsed, and the rubble here that you can clearly
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  Speaker 4: see in these first few videos. Now we're getting out
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  Speaker 4: of western Columbia.
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  Speaker 1: All right, thanks, Derek, let's go loud Noticeeing correspondent Stefano
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  Speaker 1: Posey Bond. Stefano, I know you've covered Columbia. What more
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  Speaker 1: can you tell us about this quake?
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, well, we can understand, Pamela that these quake as
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  Speaker 5: heat one of the most sparsely populated areas of Columbia.
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  Speaker 5: Columbia itself is a highly Herban and its country where
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  Speaker 5: more than seventy percent of the population actually lives in
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  Speaker 5: cities urban area, and thankfully, the epicenter of this earthquake
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  Speaker 5: was in an area densely covered by jungle and the rainforest. However,
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  Speaker 5: the majority of the damage seems to be concentrated in
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  Speaker 5: the area of Pereira, the city of Pereira, which is
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  Speaker 5: a city of about half a million people right at
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  Speaker 5: the center of Columbia. It's at a high altitude on
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  Speaker 5: top of the mountain of the Andes Mountain, and where
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  Speaker 5: we understand that at least eighteen people have been killed
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  Speaker 5: by the earthquake according to the local mayor. Substantial damage
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  Speaker 5: has been impacted on the local airport, which of course
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  Speaker 5: is a crucial aspect of this story, because one thing
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  Speaker 5: that I've definitely learned covering the Venezuela and earthquake a
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  Speaker 5: couple of months ago is that reaching the areas most
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  Speaker 5: affected by this sort of natural disaster is particularly challenging
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  Speaker 5: when you don't have the support of aviation.
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  Speaker 3: Colombia is also a very hilly country.
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  Speaker 5: The region that has been impacted by the earthquake is
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  Speaker 5: definitely more mountainous than the planes, and you can imagine
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  Speaker 5: that they will need to put the airports back into
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  Speaker 5: running as quickly as possible if they want to have
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  Speaker 5: supplies in the upcoming.
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  Speaker 3: Hours and days.
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  Speaker 5: So the fact that the earthquake that the airport sorry
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  Speaker 5: in Pereira has been substantially damaged, of course, is a
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  Speaker 5: cause of concern.
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  Speaker 3: Like we were saying, at least twenty people killed so far.
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  Speaker 5: I was checking with phone with friends and loved ones
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  Speaker 5: on the phone as we learn the news. Uckily, all
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  Speaker 5: of the people that I was in touch with when
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  Speaker 5: I was living in Colombia for the last.
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  Speaker 3: Six years have been rescued.
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  Speaker 5: We were just chatting if they were able to speak
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  Speaker 5: with their relatives or loved ones in the eras most
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  Speaker 5: impacted by these by these quake.
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  Speaker 3: Luckily, the number of.
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  Speaker 5: The of the casualties seems to be minor compared to
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  Speaker 5: the ones in Venezuela a couple of months ago, but
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  Speaker 5: that of course is the comparison. The story of Venezuela
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  Speaker 5: really has shocked the region the South America as a whole,
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  Speaker 5: with two earthquakes impacting one in a short succession from
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  Speaker 5: the other one. It seems like that this is the
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  Speaker 5: case for Colombia as well, where several after shakes have
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  Speaker 5: been continuously hitting in the capital.
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  Speaker 3: A couple of friends, they just texted me a.
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  Speaker 5: Few moments ago, say that they were in Bogota and
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  Speaker 5: they could still here feel the after shakes, Pamela, So
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  Speaker 5: we will try to understand more the President of Columbia,
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  Speaker 5: but out of the Espreria, who has just worn himself
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  Speaker 5: swore in, he's just at the beginning of his man
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  Speaker 5: that he was worn in only on the seventh of August,
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  Speaker 5: and he's now facing a major challenge, a major natural crisis,
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  Speaker 5: natural disaster crisis that of course will challenge the unity
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  Speaker 5: of its government.
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  Speaker 3: He has called for an emergency meeting of his cabinet.
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  Speaker 5: He points to the video from his presidential jet, saying
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  Speaker 5: that he was heading to the capital Bogota to chair
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  Speaker 5: the emergency meeting and to make all of the resources
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  Speaker 5: necessarily available. But of course we're here still in the
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  Speaker 5: very early stages of the story and will bring you.
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  Speaker 3: The latest as soon as we hear more from the
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  Speaker 3: Columbian authorities. Pamela, Yeah, I.
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  Speaker 1: Mean seven point four magnitude earthquake. You know, Colombia is
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  Speaker 1: a country that is no stranger to earthquakes, but this
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  Speaker 1: is a really large scale and I'm wondering during your
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  Speaker 1: time living there, what the concern was for an earthquake
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  Speaker 1: of this magnitude and just the preparations or ability to
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  Speaker 1: respond on a mass scale.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, the level of preparation, of course, is different throughout
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  Speaker 5: the country. Columbia is in a very uneven country. You
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  Speaker 5: live in the city, especially the other where I was
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  Speaker 5: living in the center of Bogota, you don't really have
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  Speaker 5: an experience that is so different from living in the
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  Speaker 5: West in the US, for example, But of course the
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  Speaker 5: countryside is a completely different matterer. While I was living
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  Speaker 5: in Columbia for the last six years, so I did
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  Speaker 5: experience several earthquakes, none of them was of these magnitude.
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  Speaker 5: Friends that I have been messaging or calling throughout the
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  Speaker 5: afternoon here in Italy, I've been all been saying it's
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  Speaker 5: the worst that I've experienced. I never experienced something so
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  Speaker 5: several people have actually been awakened by these earthquakes. Because
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  Speaker 5: it hit at seven thirty am in the morning in Colombia,
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  Speaker 5: and so some people they just said that they were
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  Speaker 5: being thrown after beds by the magnitude of this quay.
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  Speaker 3: The city of Bogata itself, you can see like you could.
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  Speaker 5: I remember that you will go into buildings and you
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  Speaker 5: will hear see the notices on the wall saying that
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  Speaker 5: these are quake safe buildings with building techniques that are
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  Speaker 5: made up to resist to the impact to the impact
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  Speaker 5: of an earthquake.
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  Speaker 3: Of course, the countryside is a.
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  Speaker 5: Completely different different matteral all large structures such as the airport,
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  Speaker 5: as I was saying in Pereira, that is the are
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  Speaker 5: that for me now is the biggest hour of concern
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  Speaker 5: because it's very hard to travel around the countryside in Colombia,
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  Speaker 5: and you need their travel to get the supplies that
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  Speaker 5: the first responders will need in the aras that are
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  Speaker 5: most impacted by the earthquake. So I hope that they
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  Speaker 5: will be able to have the airports in the runways
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  Speaker 5: up and running as quickly as possible.
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  Speaker 6: Let's talk with these Gonzalez from the intergram On Crisis
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  Speaker 6: group who felt the earthquake in Bogota. You felt the
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  Speaker 6: earthquake as faraway as Bogota. But I'm certainly glad that
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  Speaker 6: you are safe. I just want to talk about the impact,
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  Speaker 6: the likely impact of this quake, because obviously, the first
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  Speaker 6: thing that I thought about was the fact that just
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  Speaker 6: about six weeks ago, in neighboring Venezuela, we had two
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  Speaker 6: twin earthquakes that measured seven point two and seven point
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  Speaker 6: five on the Richter scale this one and Columbia is
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  Speaker 6: seven point four. And obviously there are various factors, including
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  Speaker 6: the depth of the earthquake that determines really the consequences.
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  Speaker 6: But just walk us through how concerned people are about
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  Speaker 6: what the death toll may be. Consider that in Venezuela
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  Speaker 6: where now probably sixty one thousand people, that walk us
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  Speaker 6: through what the concern is about how things may end
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  Speaker 6: up in Columbia.
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  Speaker 7: Yes, thank you so much for the invitation. Well right now,
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  Speaker 7: the most serious impacts have been reported in some parts
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  Speaker 7: of the country, a region known as Ekatero, mainly cities
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  Speaker 7: like Mani, Sales, Preda, Armenia, and Gali have had the
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  Speaker 7: most serious affectations of the earthquake, and there has been
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  Speaker 7: a report of injured people and collapsed buildings, and so
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  Speaker 7: far we don't know the extent of the managemicitude of
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  Speaker 7: the damage that this has caused. But this certainly adds
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  Speaker 7: to or or or raises a concern about the aftermath
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  Speaker 7: and the implications that it will have in these areas
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  Speaker 7: in terms of reconstruction and attention to victims and people
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  Speaker 7: and that lost their property.
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  Speaker 6: One of the things that essentially really amplify the crisis
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  Speaker 6: in neighboring Venezuela is the resources, the capacity of the
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  Speaker 6: healthcare infrastructure and just the infrastructure overall. What are things
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  Speaker 6: like it in neighboring Columbia.
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  Speaker 7: And what we have seen here that authorities have moved
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  Speaker 7: very fast to see and evaluate damages so far, and
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  Speaker 7: so I think the response has been very quick, and
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  Speaker 7: they are very solid institutions that are in charge of
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  Speaker 7: crisis management and attempting these sort of disasters, and so
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  Speaker 7: we can expect that to also help or aid for
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  Speaker 7: the response to be quicker, and the other institutions move
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  Speaker 7: very effectively to address any damage or or attempt any
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  Speaker 7: issue that may arise.
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  Speaker 6: Obviously, you know whenever you have any large earthquake, there
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  Speaker 6: is an immediate fear about after sharks, you know, other
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  Speaker 6: sort of smaller earthquakes that may happen. What are authorities
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  Speaker 6: near the epicenter telling telling locals.
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  Speaker 7: Well, yes, that's definitely a normal part of the after
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  Speaker 7: an earthquake, and considering this one was so impactful and
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  Speaker 7: so intense and to expect after sharks, and so I
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  Speaker 7: think people are very aware and very attentive of this
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  Speaker 7: to be in the duration of the day and even
• 12:36
  Speaker 7: tomorrow to feel any after shocks of the earthquake.
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  Speaker 6: As I understand it, The last sort of major earthquake
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  Speaker 6: that Columbia has seen of this kind of level on
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  Speaker 6: the Richter scale was many years ago, and I think
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  Speaker 6: in nineteen eighty nine there was a six point two
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  Speaker 6: magnitude earthquake that killed over a thousand people. And obviously,
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  Speaker 6: you know, it's very difficult to just looked at the
• 13:00
  Speaker 6: level at the Richter scale alone, because obviously the depth
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  Speaker 6: and the shallowness of the earthquake is really what determines
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  Speaker 6: how it impacts buildings. But took us through how common
• 13:10
  Speaker 6: smaller earthquakes are, particularly in Western Columbia.
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  Speaker 7: Well, yes, there are parts of Columbia that are very
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  Speaker 7: used to smaller earthquakes and the moving of earth is
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  Speaker 7: very normal and people have assumed as part of their
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  Speaker 7: everyday life. But as you said, an earthquake in this
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  Speaker 7: skill has not been registered in the past years, and
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  Speaker 7: it felt very intense, and I think it also adds
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  Speaker 7: to the already existing rape humanitarian houses of the countries
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  Speaker 7: living in and the impact that they will have.
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  Speaker 6: Like Lalais Gonzales, appreciate you being with us and I'm
• 13:53
  Speaker 6: glad you're you're safe there and nearby Barbata. Thank you
• 13:56
  Speaker 6: so much,