Strong and shallow M6.3 earthquake hits Colombia

A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.3 hit central Colombia at 17:04 UTC (12:04 LT) on August 17, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.

The epicenter was located 16.6 km (10.3 miles) N of Cumaral (population 11 263), 18.6 km (11.6 miles) NNE of Restrepo (population 17 610), 33.3 km (20.7 miles) NNE of Villavicencio (population 321 717), and 55.2 km (34.3 miles) NNE of Acacías (population 40 627), Meta, Colombia.

8 000 people are estimated to have felt very strong shaking, 340 000 strong, and 6 725 000 moderate.

The USGS issued a Yellow alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. Some casualties and damage are possible and the impact should be relatively localized. Past yellow alerts have required a local or regional-level response.

Estimated economic losses are less than 1% of GDP of Colombia.

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 walls with wood and unknown/miscellaneous types of construction.

Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides that might have contributed to losses.

Landslides triggered by this earthquake are estimated to be limited in number and (or) spatial extent.

Liquefaction is estimated to be significant in severity and (or) spatial extent.

Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking

Selected cities exposed

Regional seismicity

Featured image credit: TW/SAM, Google