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Fotografía de prensa de El Tiempo que acompaña la nota sobre el sismo en Chaparral, Tolima
El Servicio Geológico Colombiano reportó una réplica de magnitud 3,3 en Chaparral tras el sismo principal de magnitud 5,6. · El Tiempo

Magnitude 3.3 aftershock in Chaparral after the 5.6 quake in Tolima

The Colombian Geological Service reported a magnitude 3.3 aftershock in Chaparral, Tolima, minutes after the main magnitude 5.6 earthquake at 4:13 a.m.

The Colombian Geological Service reported a magnitude 3.3 aftershock in Chaparral, Tolima, minutes after the main magnitude 5.6 earthquake that shook Colombia in the early hours of Tuesday, November 3, 2026. --- The context --- The main movement was recorded at exactly 4:13 a.m., according to the updated bulletin of the Colombian Geological Service. Its epicenter was located in Chaparral, Tolima, 17 kilometers from the municipality of Roncesvalles, at a shallow depth, that is, less than 30 kilometers, and it was located at coordinates of latitude 3.86 and longitude -75.63. The technical director of Geohazards of the Colombian Geological Service, Carolina García Londoño, specified that the approximate depth was 19 kilometers and that the quake was felt in different areas of the country, with Roncesvalles, San Antonio and Chaparral as the municipalities closest to the epicenter. --- The facts --- The first aftershock occurred at 4:16 a.m. and had a magnitude of 3.3. Later, at 4:27 a.m., another movement of magnitude 3.5 occurred, both classified as shallow. The records of the agency also account for movements of magnitudes 3.6, 3.3, 2.4, 2.2, 2.2 and 2.3, which occurred between 4:16 and 8:16 in the morning, and by the 9 a.m. cutoff seven aftershocks had already been recorded, with magnitudes between 2.1 and 3.5. Hours later the figure rose to eight aftershocks, with movements of magnitude 2.5 at 9:31 a.m. and magnitude 2.4 at 11:40 a.m. --- The positions --- The National Unit for Disaster Risk Management delivered a preliminary balance: the National Crisis Room reported that one person was injured by the fall of a wall in a home in Chaparral. In Quimbaya, Quindío, part of the structure of a church located on Carrera Quinta detached, with no people injured, and in Bogotá evacuations were recorded in some residential complexes. The mayor of Chaparral, Helver González Mora, revealed that during the morning serious damage occurred in at least 55 homes after the quake, with one home destroyed and around 3 homes also heavily affected, for significant damage in a total of 55 properties, as he specified after the technical visit. The governor of Tolima, Adriana Magali Matiz, reported that attention and prevention protocols were activated in the department and that classes would be held virtually throughout Tolima while the situation was evaluated. The mayor of Bogotá, Carlos Fernando Galán, said that, after an initial review, no damage or effects are reported in the capital, and the governor of Cundinamarca, Jorge Emilio Rey, confirmed that there are no effects in his department. The Colombian Geological Service further explained that the activity did not begin with this morning's movement: since last September 20 it has recorded notable seismic activity, with swarm characteristics, in Chaparral, with more than 1,632 earthquakes of magnitudes above 2 in this area, and it received more than 4,800 citizen reports on the perception of the tremor, mainly in Bogotá, with 1,271 records, Cali, with 652, and Ibagué, with 367. --- What remains unknown --- The source does not specify the health status of the person injured in Chaparral or the definitive balance of damage in the 55 affected homes, and it keeps monitoring of seismic activity in this area of the department of Tolima open. --- Unanswered questions --- What is the condition of the person injured by the fall of a wall in Chaparral? How many of the 55 affected homes can be repaired and how many will have to be demolished? Will the aftershock sequence of the seismic swarm active since September 20 keep growing? When will in-person classes return in Tolima? --- EPM analysis --- The Chaparral sequence is not an isolated event: the Colombian Geological Service itself places it within a swarm active since September, with thousands of movements recorded in the same area. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the Chaparral emergency demands moving from the aftershock count to the full damage balance: there are at least 55 affected homes, one injured person and a seismic swarm that shows no sign of closing. The institutional response was quick in protocols and in virtual classes, but the real measure will be the attention given to the families whose houses were destroyed or heavily affected, and continuous, verifiable monitoring information. Colombia lives with active faults; prevention and safe construction cannot depend on the fright of a single early morning.
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