Buenaventura Residents Denounce Slow Aid After 7.4 Quake Kills 287 in Colombia

3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 15

540 homes collapsed and 3,416 were damaged in Buenaventura, where residents say municipal and national authorities have barely responded since Monday’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake.
19 of the nationwide 287 deaths were in the port city, and locals say the weak response reflects chronic neglect of a poorer, largely Afro-Colombian community that fears bigger cities like Cali and Pereira will get priority.
330 people were injured in Buenaventura, but several hospital wards are shut and patients are being treated under tents outside, underscoring long-running shortages and unpaid staff cited by residents.
Security has also deteriorated: residents reported looting at a collapsed building, no sustained military deployment like in Cali, and aid deliveries in Barrio Oriente needing police escorts.
15.4% of Buenaventura residents lived in multidimensional poverty in 2024—more than double Cali’s 6.7%—and local organizers warn the quake will deepen the city’s cycle of poverty, violence and underinvestment.