Colombia Earthquake 2026

Direct Relief is responding after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake caused widespread damage and loss of life across western Colombia on Aug. 10, 2026.

DIRECT RELIEF’S INITIAL RESPONSE

Search-and-rescue operations remain underway, and casualty figures are expected to change as assessments reach additional communities. Access is a central challenge in Chocó, where remote terrain and damaged transportation infrastructure are slowing efforts to reach some affected areas.

The funding will help PAC procure and deliver urgently needed medical supplies and provide humanitarian air transportation. PAC plans to move medical personnel, supplies, blood units and other essential resources into Condoto and other affected municipalities in Chocó as needs evolve.

Direct Relief is also:

• Preparing medicines and supplies commonly requested after major earthquakes, including wound-care and surgical supplies, antibiotics and Field Medical Packs for first responders and search-and-rescue teams.
• Assessing additional emergency grants for search-and-rescue organizations and medical brigades traveling to affected communities.
• Working with Colombian health organizations to identify requested medical aid that can be imported, stored and delivered safely.
• Identifying local organizations that can receive medical and emergency resources for distribution to health facilities and responders.
• Coordinating with Banco de Medicamentos to help direct in-country product donations where they are most needed.

Direct Relief provides medical aid in response to specific requests and in coordination with responsible authorities and health organizations. This helps ensure that supplies are clinically appropriate, can clear required importation processes and can reach facilities equipped to use them—particularly when damaged transportation systems create severe bottlenecks.

The Phases of an Earthquake Response

These actions represent the initial phase of Direct Relief’s response. Needs will change as rescue operations continue, damage assessments reach more communities and Colombian health organizations determine what support is most urgently required.

In the coming days and weeks, Direct Relief expects the response to expand based on requests from local partners. That may include additional emergency grants, shipments of medicines and supplies, support for health facilities caring for injured and displaced people, and resources to maintain maternal care, chronic disease treatment and other essential health services.

Over the following months, priorities may shift toward rehabilitation, replacement of damaged medical equipment, restoration of health services and other recovery needs identified by Colombian health organizations.

The scale and form of the response will be determined by verified needs, local capacity and what can be delivered safely and effectively. Direct Relief will report additional grants, shipments, recipients and results as they are confirmed.

HOW HEALTH NEEDS CHANGE OVER TIME

Immediate response

During the first days, the most urgent needs often include search-and-rescue support, trauma and wound care, surgery, antibiotics, blood products and equipment for first responders.

Continuity of care

As the response continues, damaged facilities, displacement and transportation disruptions can separate people from essential healthcare. Pregnant people still need maternal care. Children still need routine treatment. People living with diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions still need medication.

Recovery

Longer-term needs may include rehabilitation, mental health services, replacement medical equipment and support for health facilities serving displaced or recovering communities. Direct Relief prepares for these later phases while responding to immediate requests.

AN ESTABLISHED NETWORK IN COLOMBIA

Direct Relief’s work in Colombia began long before this earthquake.

Since 2015, Direct Relief has provided more than $27 million in medical aid to health organizations in the country. Over the past five years, that support has included more than $7 million in medical aid and financial assistance, including $1.2 million in grants.

Recent work has supported:

• Medical outreach and access to medicines in remote and border communities.
• Medical oxygen systems at three hospitals serving a combined population of approximately 400,000 people.
• Portable ultracold freezers used to preserve yellow-fever samples transported from rural areas for testing.
• Colombian organizations providing healthcare, protective equipment and health education in communities with limited access to services.
• Emergency coordination following the 2017 Mocoa disaster.
• The delivery of 70,000 N95 respirators to PAHO Colombia during the 2023 Nevado del Ruiz volcano alert.

These relationships provide established pathways for understanding local needs, moving resources and supporting Colombian health organizations through both emergencies and recovery.

lessons from PAST EARTHQUAKES

Direct Relief’s past earthquake responses show how initial grants and shipments can expand as damage becomes clearer and local organizations identify additional needs.

After Nepal’s 2015 earthquakes, Direct Relief increased its initial cash commitment from $50,000 to $500,000 within days. Within six months, Direct Relief had delivered 144 tons of requested medical aid valued at $29 million to hospitals, emergency medical teams, outreach camps and Nepalese organizations caring for survivors.

Following the 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, Direct Relief initially prepared more than 25 pallets of medical supplies and funded emergency healthcare and search-and-rescue organizations. By the first anniversary, the response had resulted in the delivery or pending delivery of 577 tons of medical aid valued at $133.1 million.

Within weeks of the 2026 earthquakes in neighboring Venezuela, Direct Relief’s response had expanded to 17 tons of requested medical aid valued at $8.4 million and $450,000 in emergency grants to four local organizations.

Across these responses, the work progressed from rescue, trauma care and emergency medical deliveries to maternal care, chronic disease treatment, rehabilitation, mental health services and longer-term support for affected health systems.

That experience is guiding the response in Colombia: act quickly on immediate requests, strengthen the organizations already responding and remain engaged as health needs shift from rescue to recovery.

SUPPORT COLOMBIA EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE

Donations made now allow Direct Relief to respond as new requests emerge—not only during the immediate rescue period, but throughout the weeks and months of medical care and recovery that follow.

Donations to Direct Relief’s Colombia Earthquake Response Fund support requested medical resources and emergency grants for Colombian health organizations and responders.

Direct Relief will continue reporting how those resources are used as additional activities are confirmed.