The economic consequences of the devastating earthquake that shook western and central Colombia on August 10 amount to a staggering $9.6 billion.
This is according to the first official and precise estimates of the Colombian government, presented urgently to the nation.
The country's newly elected president, De La Espriella, explained that the amount includes nearly 24.5 trillion Colombian pesos for the reconstruction of destroyed buildings and another 5.5 trillion pesos for critical infrastructure. According to data published by the agency Reuters, the powerful disaster with a magnitude of 7.4 on the Richter scale claimed the lives of at least 280-294 people, injured more than 4,100 citizens and left dozens missing.
The epicenter was located in San José del Palmar in the Chocó department, but major urban centers such as Cali, Pereira and Manizales suffered enormous destruction. Satellite systems coordinated by Copernicus EMS are already carrying out emergency mapping to assess the damage to support the humanitarian mission and aid distribution.