Colombia’s President Abelardo De La Espriella said preliminary estimates put the economic damage from last week’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake at about $9.58 billion, as the government begins assessing the scale of destruction and planning reconstruction.
Reuters reported on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, that De La Espriella said the estimated losses amount to about 30 trillion Colombian pesos, including roughly 24.5 trillion pesos in damage to buildings and 5.5 trillion pesos to infrastructure. He stressed that the figure remains preliminary and could change as authorities conduct further assessments.
The earthquake struck western Colombia on August 10, causing widespread damage in areas including Cali and Pereira. The latest official figures cited by Reuters put the death toll at about 280, with more than 4,000 people injured and 143 still missing.
Rescue teams have spent days searching collapsed buildings, while thousands of people have been displaced from damaged homes. Aftershocks have also complicated rescue and recovery operations and increased risks for people returning to unstable structures.
The disaster is the first major crisis facing De La Espriella, who took office only days before the earthquake. His government now faces the dual challenge of continuing emergency relief while preparing a large-scale reconstruction effort. Reuters reported that the World Bank has already disbursed $200 million to support Colombia’s emergency response and recovery.
The earthquake caused extensive damage to homes, schools and hospitals across western Colombia. Experts have also warned that older buildings and weaknesses in compliance with modern seismic standards may have contributed to the destruction in some areas.
The financial impact is expected to increase as authorities complete assessments in remote and heavily affected areas. The government is expected to focus reconstruction efforts on housing, public infrastructure and essential services in communities hardest hit by the disaster.
The scale of the damage also comes amid a series of major earthquakes in the region. Earthquakes that struck neighbouring Venezuela on June 24 caused an estimated $37 billion in damage to housing and infrastructure, according to an initial assessment by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
