The Daily Journal.— Material losses from the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck southwestern and central Colombia have reached a preliminary estimate of 30 trillion pesos (about $9.589 billion), Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella said.
During a televised address on Monday, the president presented an initial assessment of the earthquake’s economic impact, which struck a week ago with its epicenter in San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó.
“We already have an initial technical estimate of the economic scale of this disaster. A private firm modeled direct physical losses in Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, Quindío and Caldas at close to 30 trillion pesos,” the president said.
Breakdown of material damage
According to official figures, the economic impact falls into two main categories: 24.5 trillion pesos (approximately $7.8308 billion) in losses from the collapse and damage of residential and commercial buildings, schools and hospitals; and 5.5 trillion pesos (about $1.759 billion) in damage to roads and basic services from the port of Buenaventura to cities such as Quibdó, Cali, Pereira and Manizales.
Casualty figures
De La Espriella also confirmed that the earthquake left 289 people dead, 4,187 injured and 143 missing. According to data from the Colombian Association of Capital Cities, Cali and Pereira accounted for 75% of the fatalities.
With information from Reuters.
