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Magnitude 7.4 Earthquake Strikes Western Colombia

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on August 10, 2026, with official records indicating high casualties and extensive damage are estimated to be likely.

3 reports on this incident · first at Aug 12, 2026, 12:58 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 10, 2026, 11:52 a.m. ETUpdated Aug 18, 2026, 8:53 a.m. ET
Developing · checked 7h ago

Earthquake records are revised. Magnitudes change after review, and estimated impact levels are automated assessments that are superseded by actual reports from the ground.

We last searched for new coverage of this at Aug 18, 2026, 3:08 a.m. ET — checked 7h ago.

A magnitude 7.4 struck western Colombia on August 10, 2026, according to reporting by dw.com, aljazeera.com, kesq.com, usatoday.com, hngn.com, nwcatholic.org, krgv.com, krdo.com, thoughtcatalog.com, nbcnewyork.com, clydebankpost.co.uk, newindianexpress.com, jns.org, localnews8.com, and nypost.com. Outlets reported differing times for the occurrence: usatoday.com reported it occurred at 07:30, jns.org reported 07:34, aljazeera.com reported times of 12:30:00Z and 12:34:00Z on August 10, 2026, and other outlets reported August 10, 2026. Location descriptions varied across reporting outlets. Outlets including aljazeera.com, kesq.com, krdo.com, localnews8.com, nbcnewyork.com, nwcatholic.org, and yahoo.com reported the location . Meanwhile, clydebankpost.co.uk, nwcatholic.org, nypost.com, and newindianexpress.com reported it at ; hngn.com reported it ; thoughtcatalog.com reported it near San José del Palmar in sparsely populated Chocó on the Pacific coast; dw.com reported it near San Jose del Palmar in the northwestern Choco region; jns.org reported it in western Colombia with its epicenter in the Chocó region; usatoday.com reported it near San Jose del Palmar in Choco, western Colombia; newindianexpress.com reported it in the ; and krgv.com reported it in . Sources also reported differing depth figures: aljazeera.com and thoughtcatalog.com reported a depth of 107 km, while hngn.com reported 103 km. Official United States Geological Survey records state the occurred at a depth of 107 km within an depth band. Official United States Geological Survey records list a magnitude type mww, a community intensity of , an instrument intensity of , and felt reports. The record assigned an estimated impact level of red, indicating that , and noted that a tsunami evaluation was not flagged.

Earlier reports

  1. Aug 15, 2026, 9:57 p.m. ET

    USGS Sets Reviewed Magnitude at 7.4 for Western Colombia Earthquake

    The United States Geological Survey has officially reviewed the magnitude of the earthquake that struck western Colombia on August 10, 2026, placing it at magnitude 7.4 (mww).

    According to official records from the United States Geological Survey, the intermediate-depth earthquake occurred at a depth of 110.285 km. The agency logged 1107 felt reports, with an instrument intensity of 7.999 and a community intensity of 7.9.

    Official records from the survey designate the estimated impact level as red, meaning high casualties and extensive damage are estimated to be likely. Official records also show that a tsunami evaluation was not flagged. Reporting on the earthquake was published by kesq.com.

  2. Aug 12, 2026, 12:58 p.m. ETFirst report

    USGS Records Magnitude 7.4 Earthquake Near San José del Palmar, Colombia

    A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck 5 km S of San José del Palmar, Colombia, on August 10, 2026, according to the event record published by the United States Geological Survey. The record gives the origin time as 12:34:28 UTC and lists the magnitude type as mww, with the magnitude status marked "reviewed."

    The USGS record lists the depth as 110.285 — the record states depth in kilometers — placing it in what the agency classifies as the intermediate depth band. The record gives an instrumental intensity of 7.999 and a community intensity of 7.9, drawn from 1,107 felt reports submitted to the agency.

    The USGS record carries an estimated impact level of red, which the agency defines as meaning high casualties and extensive damage are estimated to be likely. That is a modelled estimate, not a count: no casualty or damage figures appear in the record, and none have been confirmed. The record does not flag the event for tsunami evaluation.

    This is a developing situation. Magnitude, depth and intensity values in USGS event records are routinely revised as more seismic data is processed.

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Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 1018 Aug 2026, 12:53current

    Updated reporting to incorporate missing location descriptions, additional source attributions, and time details from jns.org.

  2. Version 918 Aug 2026, 01:06

    Added missing location details and attribution from newindianexpress.com.

  3. Version 817 Aug 2026, 20:09

    Updated story with competing depth reported by hngn.com, expanded location accounts, and specific time reports from aljazeera.com.

  4. Version 717 Aug 2026, 19:52

    Updated report to incorporate location phrasing from dw.com and thoughtcatalog.com and depth reporting from thoughtcatalog.com.

  5. Version 617 Aug 2026, 19:38

    Updated depth figure and added attributed variations in time and location reporting.

  6. Version 517 Aug 2026, 16:24

    Added United States Geological Survey event page URL to sources_cited list.

  7. Version 417 Aug 2026, 09:45

    Added attribution for localnews8.com to the location reporting and removed forbidden pipeline terminology.

  8. Version 317 Aug 2026, 08:52

    Added conflicting location reporting from clydebankpost.co.uk alongside kesq.com and krdo.com accounts.

  9. Version 216 Aug 2026, 05:05

    Updated story structure to incorporate outlet attributions and refine terminology.

  10. Version 116 Aug 2026, 01:52

    First published.

  11. Version 112 Aug 2026, 16:58current

    First published.

  12. Version 116 Aug 2026, 01:57current

    First published.

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