Written by: Karen Dayana Mosquera Palacios
August 20, 2026
Global Exchange stands with the people of Colombia following the earthquake that struck on August 10. I write not only on behalf of Global Exchange, but as a Colombian whose own family and community were among those hit — Cali, Chocó, Buenaventura are not names I know from headlines; they are home.
On the morning of August 10, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia — the country’s strongest in nearly five decades. So far: 312 dead, 4,380 injured, and 290 still missing. The government has registered 143.533 families — 294.503 people — as affected across 470 municipalities. More than 29.680 homes have been destroyed outright, another 134.282 are damaged badly enough that families can’t safely go back inside, and 227 buildings have collapsed. Put simply: tens of thousands of Colombians do not have anywhere of their own to sleep tonight.
The quake struck a government three days into office, its transition still unfinished — without the reliable information and coordinated response capacity a functioning transition would have provided.
The earthquake was felt across a broad swath of the country, including Cali, Pereira, Quibdó, Buenaventura, Manizales, and dozens of smaller communities now confronting loss and extensive damage. The impact has been especially severe in the Pacific — in places like the department of Chocó and the port city of Buenaventura, predominantly Black and Indigenous territories that were already among Colombia’s poorest before the ground shook, historically forgotten and underserved because of structural racism and decades of insufficient public investment.
That neglect did not start with the earthquake — it exposed it. Roads were blocked, phone lines went dark, and communities that have long faced barriers to healthcare, infrastructure, transportation, and basic government services were suddenly confronting a disaster on top of them. The need is enormous, and the road to recovery will be long.
This is exactly why we cannot let attention move on once the news cycle does.
Global Exchange will stay engaged with our partners across Colombian civil society, amplifying the voices of affected communities and pushing for the resources, support, and accountability they deserve. But Colombia cannot do this alone — at a moment like this, solidarity from beyond its borders matters, so that the hardest-hit communities aren’t left to rebuild by themselves.
This is not only about getting communities through the next few weeks; it is about making sure they have what they need to rebuild safely, recover with dignity, and not be forgotten again once the headlines fade.
Right now, the priority is getting clean drinking water, nutritious food, and shelter to people while the longer work of rebuilding takes shape. Global Exchange has already sent $20,000 to trusted partners on the ground, who are running collective kitchens and distributing food and basic necessities to the communities hit hardest. If you’re able to, please consider supporting Global Exchange’s work in Colombia — every contribution helps us keep responding as needs continue to evolve in the weeks ahead. If you’re not able to give, sharing this with your friends, family, and networks is its own way of helping.
Solidarity is not born from abundance, but from empathy.