Earthquake Colombia Today: Live Map and Latest Quakes

Key context

What is normal in Colombia

Over the 30 years 1996-2025, USGS recorded 867 earthquakes of M4.5 or more in Colombia: about 29 a year, or 2.4 a month. The past 12 months had 52, about 80% more than the 30-year average. Quakes of M6 or more average 0.7 a year here (21 in 30 years), and 1 one happened in the past 12 months.

Busy years usually mean one large quake and its aftershocks: the peak year here was 2023 with 53. Counts cover Colombia and its Pacific coastal waters. They come from the USGS ComCat catalog, which records small quakes more completely in the US than elsewhere, so compare like with like.

Largest earthquakes recorded in Colombia

Plates and faults

Colombia sits where the Nazca Plate dives east beneath South America along the Colombia-Ecuador Trench, while the Caribbean Plate pushes in from the north. The Pacific coast of Nariño and Cauca had a M8.8 quake in 1906 and a M8+ quake in 1979, both with tsunamis.

Inland, faults along the three Andean ranges cause shallow quakes, like the M6.2 Armenia (Quindio) quake of 1999. Under Santander lies the Bucaramanga nest, a small cluster at about 150 km depth that produces quakes almost every day; that is why so many quakes on this page are listed near Los Santos and Bucaramanga.

• Colombia-Ecuador Trench (Pacific coast, Nariño and Cauca)
• Bucaramanga nest (Santander, about 150 km deep)
• Romeral fault system (western Andes, Eje Cafetero)
• Llanos foothills thrust (eastern Andes, near Bogota and Villavicencio)
• Bocono and Santa Marta faults (north-east)

Where the recent quakes were

Of the 14 quakes of the past 30 days, 9 were shallow (less than 70 km deep), 5 intermediate (70-300 km) and 0 deep (more than 300 km). 14 reached M4 or more. The places USGS named most often were Sipí, Colombia (3), Roncesvalles, Colombia (3), Juradó, Colombia (2).

Official sources and warnings

• Servicio Geologico Colombiano (SGC): Colombia's official quake and volcano monitoring agency; it reports many smaller quakes than USGS.
• UNGRD (National Disaster Risk Management Unit): national emergency management.

What to do in an earthquake

If you feel shaking: Drop, Cover and Hold On until it stops. Stay away from windows and heavy furniture, and do not run outside during the shaking. On a coast, strong or long shaking is a natural tsunami warning: move to high ground or inland at once, on foot if you can. Then follow your local officials; this page is not a warning service.

In Colombia, Drop, Cover and Hold On, and follow SGC and UNGRD instructions. On the Pacific coast, move to high ground after strong or long shaking.