The Colombia’s government announced the preparation of an economic emergency declaration to mobilize funds for the populations affected by the recent magnitude 7.4 earthquake, and will activate financing with the World Bank that could reach up to 450 million dollars.
Speaking from the Congress of the Republic, the Minister of Finance, Miguel Gómez, specified that the eventual approval of the declaration this very day would allow the resources of the international credit to be available before the end of the week.
“We activated, under the framework of the economic emergency that we expect to be promulgated today, a credit of up to 450 million dollars with the World Bank to attend to this emergency,” the Minister emphasized.
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The head of the portfolio emphasized that the entire budgetary allocation of the National Fund for Disaster Risk Management will be made available to accelerate assistance to those affected, and other budget allocations will be channeled toward containing the disaster.
Gómez stressed that the funds assigned to respond to the calamity will be administered and executed directly by the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD).
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Rising Casualties
According to the most recent consolidated report presented by the Colombian Association of Capital Cities (Asocapitales, in Spanish), the earthquake recorded on the morning of Monday with its epicenter in the department of Chocó, leaves a toll of at least 181 people dead and 1,310 injured.
The natural event caused the collapse of homes and buildings, along with significant damage to the hospital network, educational institutions, roads, airport terminals and public utility systems in multiple regions. In response to the severity of the destruction, municipalities such as Cali, Pereira, Quibdó, Manizales and Armenia remain under a red alert declaration. Meanwhile, rescue units continue search and rescue operations in the hardest-hit zones.
The economic emergency mechanism allows the national government to adopt extraordinary measures with the objective of guaranteeing the financing of reconstruction and the immediate attention of the victims. The government anticipates that the World Bank credit will constitute the main source of external resources to complement the national budget allocations.
Minister Gómez detailed that the priority in the use of funds will be the stabilization of the health system, the repair of critical infrastructure and the temporary shelter of displaced families. He also indicated that the administration of the resources will include transparent mechanisms of accountability to guarantee that every dollar reaches the affected regions.
The Chocó department, one of the most impoverished in the country and the epicenter of the telluric movement, faces a particularly complex scenario due to the difficulty of accessing its communities. Local authorities requested the acceleration of aid deliveries, while the central government works on the deployment of logistics for the most remote areas.
We stand with Colombia and its people following yesterday’s earthquake, with emergency financing available and humanitarian non-reimbursable resources on the way. https://t.co/gWS0HJzeFg
— Inter-American Development Bank (@the_IDB) August 11, 2026
The economic emergency declaration, if approved this Tuesday, would represent the second time the current government uses this constitutional tool in response to a national catastrophe. The measure reflects the magnitude of a disaster that has tested the response capacity of the Colombian state and its institutions, in an operation that combines immediate humanitarian assistance with the long-term challenge of rebuilding entire communities.
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