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Call 123← Venezuela + Colombia Earthquake Response
Rapid response · Colombia
Colombia needs builders — now.
This initiative began after the June earthquakes in Venezuela. When a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on August 10, its purpose became urgent again: carry forward open-source foundations, invite validation from Colombian responders and local experts, and prototype tools for low-connectivity conditions.
Situation snapshot verified at 19:18 UTC · August 11, 2026
What we know
A severe, distributed emergency across western Colombia
USGS places the reviewed M7.4 mainshock 5 km south of San José del Palmar, Chocó, at a depth of 110.3 km. A magnitude 5.0 event followed 44 minutes later in the same area. The national SGC bulletin also reports M7.4; origin parameters may continue to be refined.
Early field reporting describes deaths, injuries, trapped people, and hundreds of damaged buildings across more than 20 municipalities, including Pereira, Quibdó, Cali, and Manizales. Chocó's rural geography — where many communities are reached by boat or air — and limited connectivity make assessment and coordination unusually difficult.
USGS models strong shaking for roughly 1.56 million people. Its ground-failure models flag red liquefaction exposure and orange landslide exposure. These are modelled hazard indicators, not confirmed damage counts; they point builders toward access mapping, field verification, and safe structural triage.
This is a fast-changing emergency. Casualty, damage, and exposure figures are provisional; use their timestamps and follow SGC and UNGRD for operational updates.
If you are in Colombia
Safety first. Use official channels.
This page is not an emergency service. These actions come from Colombian public authorities and should take priority over any hackathon activity.
Aftershocks and damaged buildings
Stay clear of visibly damaged structures, use stairs rather than elevators, and do not move fallen cables, posts, or unstable debris. Report hazards to emergency services.
Read official safety guidance ↗Verified seismic and response updates
Check SGC for earthquakes and UNGRD for national response information. Do not forward voice notes, donation links, or missing-person records you cannot verify.
Open SGC updates ↗Do not enter collapsed buildings, self-deploy to restricted zones, or send money or supplies to unverified accounts. Wait for requests from recognized Colombian response organizations.
Build for Colombia
Six response gaps that can use help now
Each priority below reuses a working Apache-2.0 starter from the existing earthquake hackathon. A useful contribution can be a small, validated improvement: Spanish copy, offline support, Colombian place data, an SGC feed adapter, or a safer field workflow.
Rapid Damage Mapping
Merge public imagery, OpenStreetMap, and timestamped field reports without presenting model output as confirmed damage. Prioritize Chocó, Risaralda, Valle del Cauca, and Caldas.
Connectivity & Information
Create low-bandwidth, store-and-forward situation updates for rural communities where internet and road access are limited. Make every critical flow usable in Spanish and on a basic phone.
Aftershock & Structural Safety
Turn SGC and USGS public feeds into plain-language aftershock and building-safety guidance. Never label a building safe without an authorized structural assessment.
Needs & Resources Matching
Help trusted organizations publish and reconcile verified needs, stock, routes, and delivery status. Design for intermittent connectivity and prevent duplicate or stale requests.
Rumor & Misinformation Verification
Trace claims back to SGC, UNGRD, local authorities, and recognized responders. Preserve uncertainty and timestamps; never turn unverified social posts into operational facts.
Search, Rescue & Missing Persons
Improve privacy-preserving family reunification and agency coordination. Keep the code fully open and use synthetic data; each adopting organization must provide its own governed environment before using real personal data.
Deployment guardrails
Open code. Never people's data.
Speed matters, but unverified disaster software can create new harm. Prototype openly and keep the path to responsible field use explicit.
- Use public, synthetic, or properly licensed sample data for the sprint.
- Timestamp every changing fact and show the source next to it.
- Design Spanish-first, accessible, offline-capable, and low-bandwidth flows.
- Do not collect survivor data in the open project. Any organization implementing a sensitive-data workflow must provide lawful agreements, access controls, safeguarding, and a security review.
More than code
Colombian knowledge is the most important dependency.
We need people who understand the places, institutions, language, and field constraints — alongside people who can build the software.
Colombian responders and community organizersGIS and remote-sensing analystsStructural and civil engineersHumanitarian logistics and data specialistsSpanish and Indigenous-language translatorsAccessibility, privacy, security, and ethics reviewers
Verified sources
Follow the source, not the screenshot.
Technical parameters come from official seismic systems; human-impact reporting is cross-checked and clearly marked provisional. Open the original source before reusing a number.
Servicio Geológico Colombiano (SGC) ↗Colombia's official seismic information and felt-reporting service.U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) ↗Reviewed origin, ShakeMap, PAGER, aftershock forecast, and ground-failure models for event us6000tjl2.Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) ↗International red alert and machine-readable event record.Unidad Nacional para la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (UNGRD) ↗Colombia's national disaster-risk and response authority.Colombia national emergency line — 123 ↗Government confirmation that 123 is Colombia's free, 24/7 national emergency line.Policía Nacional de Colombia — disaster safety guidance ↗Official post-earthquake and disaster safety recommendations.Associated Press — field reporting ↗Timestamped field reporting on casualties, affected municipalities, damage, and access constraints.
Research snapshot: August 11, 2026 at 19:18 UTC. Parameters and impacts will change as agencies validate new reports.