The desperate race to find survivors beneath the rubble in Colombia is entering its most painful stage.
Three days after a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake tore through western Colombia, rescue teams are confronting a grim reality: the window for finding people alive is rapidly narrowing, while the number of confirmed deaths continues to rise.
At the time of the latest official update reported by Al Jazeera, at least 265 people had died, more than 3,500 were injured and nearly 500 people remained officially missing. Rescue workers were still searching collapsed buildings in some of the hardest-hit areas, refusing to give up while even the smallest possibility of survival remained.
But the disaster is no longer only about the people trapped beneath the rubble.
It is becoming a test of Colombia’s ability to move from emergency rescue to a massive humanitarian and reconstruction operation.
A country running out of time
The earthquake struck on August 10, shaking large parts of western Colombia and causing widespread destruction in cities including Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdó.
Buildings collapsed, roads were damaged and thousands of families were suddenly left without homes.
Rescue crews have spent days working through concrete, twisted metal and unstable structures, sometimes relying on heavy machinery and search dogs and sometimes using their bare hands.
The first 72 hours after a major earthquake are often regarded as a critical period for locating survivors. As that window closes, rescue teams must work even more carefully, listening for sounds and searching pockets of air that could still contain trapped people.
For families waiting outside collapsed buildings, however, the clock feels painfully different.
Every passing hour can mean either another miracle or another devastating confirmation.
The numbers tell only part of the story
The death toll of 265 reported in the Al Jazeera article was already staggering.
But the wider scale of destruction was even greater.
Thousands had been injured, while hundreds were officially listed as missing. More than 9,500 homes had been destroyed or badly damaged by the time of the earlier government assessment.
Later reporting showed that the toll continued to rise as rescue and recovery operations progressed.
Reuters subsequently reported at least 281 deaths, more than 3,900 injuries and 379 people still missing.
Those changing numbers highlight one of the difficulties of responding to a disaster of this scale: the full human cost cannot be known immediately.
Authorities have to identify victims, account for missing people, assess damaged communities and distinguish between people who are genuinely missing and those who may simply have lost communication with their families.
Cali and Pereira become symbols of the devastation
Among the hardest-hit areas are Cali and Pereira, two important Colombian cities where collapsed structures have become the focus of intense rescue operations.
In Cali, emergency crews have been working through dangerous piles of debris while residents wait anxiously for news of relatives.
Pereira has seen a similar combination of professional rescue workers and ordinary citizens joining the search.
Reuters reported that thousands of civilians took part in efforts to clear debris, with some people digging with their hands when equipment or assistance was delayed.
That response has revealed another side of the disaster.
Colombia’s rescue effort is not being carried out only by official agencies.
Volunteers, medical workers, local residents and specialist teams have all become part of the enormous effort to save lives.
Hospitals are fighting their own battle
The earthquake has created a second emergency inside the healthcare system.
Hospitals in affected areas have themselves suffered damage, forcing medical staff to work under extraordinary conditions while treating large numbers of injured people.
Some facilities have had to prioritize the most seriously wounded and adapt their operations because parts of their infrastructure were damaged.
This creates a cruel cycle.
The earthquake damages hospitals at exactly the moment when communities need them most.
Doctors and nurses therefore have to treat patients while simultaneously dealing with damaged facilities, disrupted services and the possibility of further aftershocks.
The earthquake is also a test for Colombia’s new government
The timing has added another layer to the crisis.
President Abelardo de la Espriella had been sworn into office only days before the earthquake struck, making the disaster the first major test of his administration.
The government has declared a national emergency and promised financial support for reconstruction.
De la Espriella has also pledged to establish an emergency fund aimed at rebuilding homes, hospitals, schools and other damaged infrastructure.
That commitment will be crucial because the rescue phase is only the beginning.
Once the rubble is cleared, Colombia will face the much longer challenge of housing displaced families, restoring essential services, repairing roads and rebuilding public facilities.
International help is arriving
The scale of the disaster has prompted international assistance.
Foreign governments and organizations have offered rescue specialists, equipment, medical supplies and financial support.
The United Arab Emirates, China and other partners have been among those providing assistance, while regional countries have also offered help.
But international assistance has also generated controversy.
Mexico said Colombia had rejected an offered rescue team, while Colombian officials indicated that foreign assistance needed to meet specific requirements and coordination standards.
The disagreement highlights a difficult reality in disaster response: outside help can be invaluable, but it must be integrated safely and efficiently with the teams already operating on the ground.
The survivors still waiting for answers
Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of the disaster is the uncertainty surrounding those still missing.
For families, a missing relative is neither dead nor safely found.
It means waiting.
They gather outside hospitals. They check lists of survivors. They call phones that may never ring. They watch rescue workers disappear into the rubble and hope that the next person pulled out will be someone they love.
That uncertainty explains why rescuers continue searching even as officials describe the operation as entering its final phase.
A single survivor can change an entire family’s story.
Colombia now faces a second crisis
The earthquake itself may have lasted only moments.
Its consequences will last for years.
Thousands of families have lost homes. Infrastructure has been damaged. Hospitals and schools require repairs. Businesses have been disrupted, and some communities are struggling to access basic services.
The government must therefore manage two very different emergencies at once.
First comes the immediate mission: find survivors, treat the injured and recover those who died.
Then comes the much harder long-term task: rebuild communities and make them safer against the next earthquake.
Why the damage was so severe
Colombia is located in a seismically active region, where tectonic forces create a persistent earthquake risk.
But the severity of an earthquake disaster is never determined by magnitude alone.
Building quality, infrastructure, population density, terrain and enforcement of construction standards can all determine whether an earthquake becomes a tragedy or a catastrophe.
Experts have repeatedly emphasized that stronger buildings, better preparedness and strict seismic standards can dramatically reduce earthquake deaths.
That means Colombia’s reconstruction effort will eventually have to confront a difficult question:
Should the country simply rebuild what was destroyed — or use the disaster as an opportunity to build something safer?
The rescue phase may be ending, but Colombia’s crisis is not
The phrase “final phase” carries a painful double meaning.
For rescue teams, it means the search for survivors is becoming more focused as the chances of finding people alive decline.
For Colombia as a whole, however, it marks the beginning of another enormous chapter.
The country now has to mourn its dead, care for thousands of injured people, find homes for displaced families and rebuild communities that have been devastated in seconds.
The latest death toll is still changing, and the final human cost of the earthquake may take weeks or even longer to understand.
Yet amid the devastation, one image has repeatedly emerged: people refusing to walk away.
Rescue workers continue digging. Volunteers continue carrying debris. Doctors continue treating patients. Families continue waiting.
And beneath the rubble, every unexplained sound remains a reason to keep searching.
The race against time may be entering its final hours — but for Colombia, the much longer journey of recovery has only just begun.
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