A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Chaparral, Tolima, at 4:13 a.m. on Monday, November 3, and its shallow depth made it noticeable far beyond the epicenter. Reports said the shaking was felt in Bogotá, Ibagué, Medellín and Cali, with a second tremor registered minutes later.
The Servicio Geológico Colombiano placed the depth at less than 30 km, a level that helps explain why a single quake could be felt across several cities even without causing the kind of destruction people might expect from a stronger event. Thousands of residents evacuated their homes in several capital cities after the shaking, but authorities had not reported major structural damage or human casualties at the time.
The closest municipalities to the epicenter were Rocesvalles and San Antonio in Tolima. The replica came at 4:16 a.m. with a reported magnitude of 3.3, adding to an early-morning scare that spread quickly through social media as people tried to understand whether the worst had already passed.
That uncertainty is part of life in Colombia, which faces high seismic risk and sees around 2,500 earthquakes a month, though most are not felt. Paola Franco Velázquez said the country needs family emergency plans, safe places inside the home, evacuation routes and meeting points, along with first-aid knowledge so people can respond before help arrives.
She also urged people to stay calm, avoid rushing outside if they are not on low floors and cannot do so safely, and not to clog emergency lines after the quake. If the shaking forces people to shelter at home, she said, they should not leave water, electricity or gas running. For now, the unsettling part is not what collapsed but what could still be confirmed after the first minutes of fear.
