5.7 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Northern Colombia

Bogotá, Colombia – September 14, 2025 - A moderate earthquake of magnitude 5.7 rattled northern Colombia early Sunday morning, sending residents in the Antioquia department scrambling for safety as buildings swayed and power flickered in rural towns. The quake, which struck at 2:12 a.m. local time, was centered about 20 kilometers north of Frontino, near the border with Chocó, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).No immediate reports of casualties or major structural damage have emerged, but local authorities are conducting assessments amid fears of aftershocks in the seismically active Andean foothills.

The epicenter was pinpointed approximately 5 kilometers from the municipality of Uramita, around 170 kilometers northwest of Medellín, Colombia's second-largest city, and roughly 550 kilometers from the capital, Bogotá. At a shallow depth of just 10 kilometers, the tremor was felt across a wide swath of northern Colombia, including parts of the coffee-growing heartland where fragile infrastructure heightens vulnerability.

Social media lit up with videos of shaking lamps and startled families, though the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a slightly lower magnitude of 5.4, highlighting minor discrepancies in preliminary data.

Colombia's Servicio Geológico Colombiano (SGC) pegged the event at magnitude 5.0 in its initial bulletin, with the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) aligning closer to GFZ at 5.7 and a depth of 13 kilometers. "This is the strongest quake to hit this exact region in over two decades," noted a preliminary EMSC report, referencing the last comparable event—a magnitude 7.2 offshore tremor in 2004 that rattled the Pacific coast 291 kilometers away.The shallow focus amplified the shaking, registering as a moderate intensity (V on the Modified Mercalli scale) near the epicenter, where objects may have toppled and doors swung open.

In Frontino and surrounding coffee fincas, early risers described a prolonged rumble lasting 15-20 seconds, evoking memories of the devastating 1999 Armenia quake that killed nearly 1,200 in the nearby coffee zone.

 "It felt like the earth was groaning under us," said local farmer María Elena Vargas, whose home in Uramita suffered cracked walls but no collapse. Minor power outages were reported in rural Antioquia, and the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) activated emergency protocols, deploying teams to inspect bridges and roads along the vital Medellín-Buenaventura corridor.

Colombia's position along the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the Nazca and Caribbean plates grind against the South American plate, makes such events routine—statistically, quakes of magnitude 5.0-5.9 strike about seven times a year.The Romeral Fault, running parallel to the Andes, is a prime suspect here, known for intracontinental tremors that pose risks to densely populated valleys.While this event spared major urban centers, experts warn that northern Antioquia's informal mining operations could complicate recovery if landslides follow heavy rains.

President Gustavo Petro's administration, still reeling from June's magnitude 6.5 shaker near Bogotá that injured four and damaged highways, urged calm via X: "Stay vigilant, but no panic—our seismic network is monitoring." As dawn broke over the misty mountains, relief efforts focused on reassuring a nation where seismic drills are as common as salsa music. For now, the ground has stilled, but in Colombia's restless geology, the next tremor is never far off.