London: A powerful earthquake, measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, shook Colombia on Sunday, Reuters reported citing the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
The earthquake originated from a depth of 10 kilometres, GFZ officials said. Buildings shook and sirens blared in Bogota as people rushed out to the streets.
An AFP report citing the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said that the earthquake struck the city of Paratebueno, in central Colombia, around 170 km east of capital city Bogota.
The huge tremor was felt at 9.08 am local time (7.38 pm IST).
Photos and videos shared on internet showed buildings shaking and people coming out of their homes in casual wear on a leisurely Sunday morning.
Hundreds of people gathered at parks and outside buildings in their pajamas.
Parents were seen trying to calm their scared kids while many looked for their pets that had run away due to the earthquake.
An image shared by an X user shows a section of a pedestrian walkway being significantly displaced and uplifted. “What a face the streets of Bogotá looked after the earthquake,” read the caption.
Colombia HIT HARD by 6.5 magnitude Earthquake
People fled as the road split beneath them pic.twitter.com/OMFXlCix7N
— RT (@RT_com) June 8, 2025
🇨🇴#COLOMBIA 🔴#URGENTE | Una cámara registró el momento del #sismo que sacudió al país. #earthquake #Temblor #Terremoto pic.twitter.com/DtJNAqxpL9
— Rochex R. Robinson Bonilla (@RochexRB27) June 8, 2025
🇨🇴#COLOMBIA 🔴#URGENTE | Una cámara registró el momento del #sismo que sacudió al país. #earthquake #Temblor #Terremoto pic.twitter.com/DtJNAqxpL9
— Rochex R. Robinson Bonilla (@RochexRB27) June 8, 2025
Bogota’s security department said that emergency workers were conducting a thorough search of the city to look for damage and provide assistance.
Central Colombia is a high seismic zone. In one of the most devastating earthquakes in Colombian history, around 1,200 people died and 3,000 were injured in the Ansermanuevo region in January 1999. More than 50,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed, and an estimated 200,000 people lost their homes or workplaces.
