Powerful Colombia Earthquake Kills At Least 111

BOGOTA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - At least 111 people were killed after a ‌powerful earthquake struck western Colombia early on Monday, knocking down buildings across several cities and injuring 87 others, with still more residents trapped in the rubble.

The quake struck just days after Abelardo De La Espriella was sworn in as president, thrusting the new administration into ​its first major crisis, with memories still fresh of devastating twin earthquakes in neighboring Venezuela in June.

"The ​national government has all of its capabilities deployed to protect lives, assist affected communities and ⁠deliver aid wherever it is needed," he said in a national address around 1 p.m. local time, ​upon declaring a national state of emergency. "The first priority is rescuing the people trapped under the rubble."

The 7.4 magnitude ​quake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, struck at a depth of 107 km (66 miles) near San Jose del Palmar, in Choco, a sparsely populated province on Colombia's Pacific Coast, but was felt in major cities nationwide.

The casualties appeared to be most concentrated ​in the western province of Risaralda in Colombia's coffee-growing region, and Cali, one of Colombia's biggest cities, was ​also hit hard, although local officials had yet to confirm any deaths.