Almost a week after a powerful earthquake, Colombia continued clearing the rubble on Sunday August 16, despite the low chances of finding survivors. In a spectacle of desolation, the excavators went into action, breaking the silence intended for the first days to detect signs of life under the rubble.
The 7.4 magnitude earthquake, which struck the Pacific coast early on August 10, destroyed thousands of buildings and killed nearly 300 people. At least 140 are still missing.
In Pereira, one of the most devastated towns, Andrés Cano, a 30-year-old rescuer, does not hide his exhaustion. The hope of finding survivors “is now very low”, sighs this nursing student.
“We feel exhausted, it’s mainly mental fatigue,” he confided to Agence France-Presse (AFP) alongside a group of friends dressed in orange vests and helmets.
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27,000 homes destroyed
This earthquake constitutes the first major test for the government of conservative President Abelardo de la Espriella, who had to face this emergency situation barely three days after taking office. On Saturday, he asked his American ally Donald Trump for a temporary suspension of customs duties in order to help his country.
Western Colombia and the coffee-producing region were hardest hit.
Nearly 27,000 homes were destroyed, according to the disaster management agency.
In reception centers, QR codes are displayed so that victims can report the disappearance of their loved ones or the damage suffered by their accommodation.
In Cali, Jorge Leon, who walks next to a yellow truck loaded with his belongings, recounts the “pain” of having to “start all over again.” “I have the impression of living a film or a dream, which I cannot achieve,” this 41-year-old lawyer told AFP.
Also in Cali, a rescuer drew a red “V” crossed out with a horizontal line on the wall of a five-story building collapsed after the earthquake, signaling the end of the search for survivors.
An expensive reconstruction
The chances of survival decrease drastically after 72 hours.
But the volunteer rescuers refuse to give up. “Even though we have been told that several days have passed, we continue to look for lives because we want to maintain hope,” professor Juan Carlos Tabares, 58, who leads the “Valencia” (“Courage”) rescue team with several volunteers, told AFP.
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Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder estimated that rebuilding Colombia’s third-largest city will cost at least $3.2 billion.
Colombia has received millions of dollars in aid from countries like the United States and organizations like the World Bank.
In the cities most affected by the earthquake, many buildings were marked with a red cross to warn of the risk of collapse and to prohibit access to pedestrians.
With AFP
