A 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook large parts of Colombia on Thursday afternoon, without the authorities reporting any casualties or damage.
According to the Colombian Geological Survey, the earthquake, originally calculated as a magnitude 5.9, was actually a magnitude 6.1 and occurred at 12:04 local time (17:04 GMT) with a “shallow depth of less than 30 kilometers”. .
The epicenter was in the town of El Calvario, in the Meta department, in the center of the country, a few kilometers from the Colombian capital.
The tremor was clearly felt in Bogotá and other cities in the country, where many buildings were evacuated due to the emergency.
“After the earthquake that was felt in Bogotá, we have no reports or activations through the emergency number 123. We will monitor the city in case of an incident,” the Bogotá Fire Department said on its social networks.
For its part, the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD) reported that it is conducting a “clearance” at the locations where the quake was felt to determine if there are casualties or damage.
Thirteen minutes after the quake, at 12:17 local time (17:17 GMT), as people began to return to their homes and offices, a magnitude 5.6 aftershock shook the country again.