87 Dead in Colombia Earthquake By Jared Kotler Associated Press Writer Monday, January 25, 1999; 5:18 p.m. EST BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- An earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 87 people and injuring nearly 850 as it toppled buildings across the country's coffee-growing heartland, police and radio reported. The early afternoon quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6, according to the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo. Its epicenter was located in western Valle del Cauca state, 140 miles from the capital, Bogota. The death and damage toll appeared to be highest in Armenia, Pereira and Calarca -- three cities near the epicenter. "There's no way to measure this crisis" said the mayor of Armenia, Alvaro Pulido. Radio reports said several buildings on the city's main plaza, including a bank and the police barracks, had collapsed. He said thousands of people were left homeless. In Armenia, there were at least 50 dead and more than 500 injured, according to the Colombian Red Cross. Radio reports put the death toll there as high as 100. One city hospital alone had received more than 500 injured, RCN radio reported. Television footage showed residents frantically trying to extract victims trapped below the debris of a fallen building in the city, the capital of Quindio state. In Calarca, 90 miles west of Bogota, 30 people died and 250 were injured, RCN reported, citing local authorities. Several aftershocks were felt in the town but it was not clear if they added to the damage. In Pereira, a city of 550,000 people and capital of Risaralda state, at least seven people died and 70 were injured, police said. Mayor Luis Alberto Duque declared a 12-hour curfew to aid rescue efforts and said the death toll was likely to rise. About 200 houses were damaged and some crumbled beneath the impact of the powerful temblor, police said. Television images from Pereira showed several demolished buildings, a taxi flattened under fallen debris and the body of a woman trapped under the rubble. Offices and apartments rattled and swayed in Bogota, where the quake was felt for about 15 seconds. Landslides caused by the earthquake blocked access to some rural areas affected by the quake. President Andres Pastrana delayed a trip to Europe and was en route by helicopter from the capital to Pereira, his office said. The earthquake was felt in most of the country, but the majority of the victims and damages were concentrated in 17 municipalities.
