By Brandon Elrod
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Video footage of a baby being rescued from the rubble offered a glimpse of hope in the aftermath of the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck western Colombia on Monday, August 9. The quake, though, has claimed hundreds of lives and left thousands grieving the loss of homes and loved ones.
“People are still working to figure out the severity of what happened,” said Andrew Montoya, a Boston Send Relief Ministry Center coordinator, said Tuesday. Montoya was visiting family in Colombia when the earthquake hit. “Homes and buildings across the country have been impacted, and it’s going to be a while before anyone knows the full extent of the damage.”
The death toll reached 216 as of Wednesday with more than 2,500 injured. An estimated 4,000 people remain unaccounted for according to local, civilian-operated internet databases. Colombian president Abelardo de la Espriella said more than 1,100 homes had been destroyed with more than 8,300 damaged.
“Right now, it’s a search,” said Send Relief vice president for international ministry Jason Cox. “Crews are working the rubble, and communications are cut across much of the region, so numbers are going to move — and not in a good direction.”
The quake is one of the strongest on record for the nation.
“Please pray for the families who are grieving the loss of life and for those who are still desperately seeking news about loved ones,” Montoya said. “Also, pray for those families who’ve lost everything due to this earthquake and also for the relief workers who are out there still searching for people and clearing the debris.”
Send Relief’s responses mainly run through local churches, national partners, and International Mission Board (IMB) teams. The cities of Quibdo, Cali, Pereira and Manizales have been heavily damaged.
Send Relief is coordinating with and providing resources to a group of churches on the ground, including sister churches from the city of Bogota to the northeast, to bring supplies and hands-on support to the affected area.
“Colombian churches are already doing amazing work to get help to their neighbors,” Cox said. “Our Send Relief Disaster Assistance Response Team will help them scale their efforts.”
This week, the Send Relief Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) will proceed to Cali and then to Pereira, among the hardest-hit areas, to coordinate on-the-ground efforts to distribute urgently needed supplies with the help of local churches.
As part of Southern Baptist efforts, a group of Send Relief-supported IMB missionaries are working through their long-term relationships in the area to deploy resources to those who have been impacted.
The earthquake is the second major geological event to hit South America this year as neighboring Venezuela experienced a devastating pair of back-to-back earthquakes on June 24 that toppled thousands of buildings and claimed the lives of more than 6,300 people.
Primarily through partnerships with churches in Colombia, Send Relief is mobilizing to meet the immediate needs of those impacted, which will open doors to proclaim the life-changing power of the gospel that offers eternal hope.
“Churches here are already mobilizing to help their communities and come alongside their neighbors to show the love of Christ through their care and support,” said Montoya. “With the help of our partners, we’re working to bring urgent help to these communities and to support the church as they meet the need.”
Montoya asked for prayers for local churches in the area, that they would have the wisdom and endurance to assist with the recovery.
Elrod writes for the North American Mission Board.
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