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Una iglesia andina con la fachada agrietada y escombros acordonados al pie de la torre, con vecinos y un inspector en la calle
Imagen alusiva a los daños por un sismo en un municipio andino colombiano. · Imagen generada para EPM

Magnitude 5.6 Quake in Chaparral Leaves One Person Injured

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake with its epicenter in Chaparral, Tolima, left one person injured by a falling wall and the partial detachment of a church in…

An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 shook Colombia at 4:13 a.m. on Tuesday, November 3, with its epicenter in the municipality of Chaparral, Tolima, according to the report of the Colombian Geological Service. --- The context --- The quake occurred at less than 30 kilometers of depth and was felt strongly in Roncesvalles and San Antonio, and it prompted evacuations in several cities. In Bogota, evacuations were reported in some residential complexes during the early morning hours. --- The facts --- The National Unit for Disaster Risk Management delivered its first assessment and detailed that one person was injured in Chaparral by the fall of a wall inside a home. The agency activated the National Crisis Room to verify the consequences of the quake. The Unit also reported that part of a church located on Carrera Quinta in Quimbaya, in Quindio, detached, with no people injured. The agency confirmed that it continued the territorial sweep with local authorities to determine whether there were other effects. --- The positions --- The technical director of Geohazards of the Colombian Geological Service, Carolina Garcia Londono, indicated that the National Seismological Network detected five aftershocks until 5.45 a. m., with magnitudes between 2.1 and 3.5. She explained that Tolima is crossed by active geological faults that can generate this type of movement. The mayor of Chaparral, Elver Gonzalez Mora, said that fear among inhabitants increased because of the intensity of the movement and because of the seismic activity that has affected the municipality since September 20. He stated that several homes suffered damage and that one of them was destroyed. --- What remains unknown --- The local leader also reported that two women were transferred by ambulance to the Hospital Central after an incident in the Cañón de las Hermosas sector: one of the patients was discharged, while the other remained under observation for a possible fracture after a wall fell on her body. So far there are no reported human losses, according to his report. The geological agency received more than 3,800 citizen reports about the quake: Bogota concentrated more than 1,000 notices, followed by Valle del Cauca, with 940, and Tolima, with 460. There is still no official diagnosis of the seismic activity recorded in the area since September. --- Unanswered questions --- Are there more affected homes in Chaparral and nearby municipalities that do not yet appear in the assessment? What explains the seismic activity that the area has recorded since September 20? When will the authorities deliver an official diagnosis of that activity? --- EPM analysis --- The first assessment is limited and reassuring in what matters most: one person injured and specific damage, with territorial verification still under way. The calm that the authorities request is best sustained with continuous and verifiable official information. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, what is decisive after the Chaparral earthquake is that the official assessment is completed without hiding its preliminary character: there is one injured person, an affected church in Quimbaya and damaged homes according to the mayor, and the territorial sweep continues. The population needs updated official data, a diagnosis of the activity recorded since September and concrete support for affected families, because prolonged uncertainty is also a form of harm for those who live in fear of the next aftershock.
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