- Magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck northeastern Colombia Wednesday; epicenter near Bucaramanga in Los Santos municipality.
- Quake occurred at about 149 kilometers depth, an area accustomed to high seismic activity.
- Sirens sounded and hundreds evacuated buildings in Bucaramanga; alarms also triggered in Bogota where people felt tremors.
- No injuries or damage reported so far, but the event revived fears after the deadly August 10 magnitude 7.4 quake.
- Earlier 7.4 quake killed over 330, destroyed thousands of homes, with estimated $9.57 billion in economic losses.
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake rattled parts of Colombia on Wednesday, causing no damage so far but stirring fears after a more powerful tremor that struck two weeks ago.
Sirens wailed and hundreds of people evacuated buildings in the city of Bucaramanga, near the epicenter in northeastern Colombia.
Wednesday’s quake occurred at a depth of 149 kilometers (93 miles) in the Los Santos municipality, where high seismic activity is typical.
Alarms also went off in the capital Bogota, where some people felt the ground tremble.
No injuries or damage have been reported so far, but the incident brought back unwelcome memories of the 7.4 magnitude quake that hit western Colombia on August 10.
That quake, the strongest in nearly half a century, killed over 330 people and destroyed thousands of homes across Colombia’s coffee region and Pacific belt.
Hard-right President Abelardo de la Espriella, who entered office three days before the disaster, declared an economic emergency in its wake.
His government estimates that the earthquake caused $9.57 billion in economic losses.
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