Powerful 7.4 Earthquake Hits Colombia, Ecuador

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, shaking the South American nation and neighboring Ecuador and prompting people to evacuate homes and buildings. The epicenter was in San Jose Del Palmar, a municipality in the Choco region about 250 miles west of Colombia's capital, Bogota, the US Geological Survey and Colombia's counterpart reported. The USGS said it struck at a depth of 66 miles at 7:34am local time, per the AP.

Choco Gov. Nubia Córdoba-Curi said on social media that in the regional capital of Quibdó, "there are injuries and serious damage to buildings," per the New York Times, without providing further details. The temblor follows two back-to-back 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes in neighboring Venezuela in late June.