Quake Hits Colombia; 20 Hurt, 500 Homeless in Poor Village

BOGOTA, Colombia — A strong earthquake on Saturday shook a Colombian fishing village described as one of the nation’s poorest, leaving 500 people homeless and about 20 injured, officials said. But no deaths were immediately reported.

The magnitude 6.6 temblor was felt in several towns on Colombia’s Pacific coast. Hardest hit was the remote village of Murindo, in Antioquia state about 90 miles northwest of Medellin.

The lack of casualties was probably due to the fact that most dwellings in the village, as elsewhere in Colombia’s tropical areas, were made of branches, with roofs of grass or banana leaves. The quake struck before dawn, so most people were at home asleep.

A spokesman for the national Red Cross in Bogota said the village’s health clinic, church and mayor’s office had been damaged or destroyed, but the buildings were empty.

Hundreds of aftershocks, some measuring up to 4.5, were recorded following the 4:33 a.m. temblor.

State Gov. Juan Gomez Martinez, who reported the figure of 20 people hurt, said the injuries were not severe. But he said he was still waiting for a more complete report from a helicopter medical team dispatched to the town.

The Murindo River is the only route connecting the village to the rest of the country. There are no highways, and telecommunications in the area were knocked out by the quake or aftershocks.

Public health service pilots who were the first observers to enter the village found no one dead or injured, said Ramiro Uribe, the chief of pilots for the service.

The RCN radio network reported that hundreds of Murindo residents were huddling in the town’s two main parks after their homes were destroyed.

The governor told RCN that 90 families in Murindo lost their homes and also said a nearby Indian community of 50 homes had been destroyed.

RCN cited rescue authorities as saying that as much as 80% of the town has been destroyed.

“If the destruction proves to be very great, we may consider relocating the entire town,” the governor said.

Most inhabitants of Murindo are fishermen. The governor described the village of 2,500 people as one of the poorest in Colombia.

The governor appealed to Colombians to help the victims by sending food, money and supplies to his office.