A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.1 hit El Dovio, Colombia at 19:21 UTC on March 23, 2019. The agency is reporting a depth of 113.3 km (70.4 miles). EMSC is reporting M5.8 at a depth of 87 km (54 miles).
The epicenter was located 7.5 km (4.7 miles) NW of El Dovio (population 7 942), 19.9 km (12.3 miles) W of La Union (population 23 459), 21.4 km (13.3 miles) NW of Roldanillo (population 27 561), 22.8 km (14.2 miles) WSW of Toro (population 13 764) and 66.5 km (41.3 miles) W of Armenia (population 315 328), Colombia.
There are 2 810 000 people living within 100 km (62 miles) and 12 000 within 10 km (6.2 miles).
7 198 000 people are estimated to have felt light shaking.
The USGS issued a green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are mud wall with wood and unknown/miscellaneous types construction.
Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides and liquefaction that might have contributed to losses.
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
Featured image credit: Google, TW/SAM
