Western Colombia got a rude awakening on Monday when a 7.4-magnitude earthquake - the strongest the country has seen in a decade, according to the Geological Service - decided to rearrange buildings and, tragically, claim at least 47 lives. The quake, which struck near San Jose del Palmar in the Choco region, about 250 miles (400km) west of Bogota, at a depth of 66 miles (107km), sent residents scrambling from Bogota to Ecuador, proving that even earthquakes like to travel.

In Cali, a city of 2 million people, Mayor Alejandro Eder reported that at least 20 buildings collapsed, with people trapped inside. The city has requested rescue teams from Bogota and Medellin, because when your own buildings are falling, it's nice to have friends. Eder noted at least 12 critical points and 25 collapsed structures, but did offer a glimmer of hope: an elderly woman and a young girl were rescued alive. He advised residents to check for large cracks and, if they see any, to leave the building - because that's what buildings are for.

Manizales, about 190 miles (300km) west of Bogota, saw more than 12 buildings and 20 homes partially or completely destroyed, according to Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas Giraldo. The city's neo-Gothic cathedral lost a tower, which fell onto the nave - a divine architectural critique, perhaps. Rojas urged citizens to stay outside and be "completely ready" for aftershocks, which are like the earthquake's awkward encore.

Pereira mourned 18 deaths, Mayor Mauricio Salazar told Caracol Radio, while Buenaventura, Colombia's main Pacific port, reported one death from a building collapse. The quake also prompted the suspension of flights at six airports - Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura - according to the civil aeronautics agency, because nothing says 'safe travel' like a runway that might be a pancake.

President Abelardo de la Espriella took to X to announce he would personally supervise recovery efforts and set up an emergency centre in San Jose del Palmar, the epicentre of both the quake and now, presumably, government attention.

This seismic tantrum follows two back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes in Venezuela in late June, which killed more than 5,000 people - a grim reminder that the Earth's crust has a temper. While small "temblores" are common in central and western Colombia, anything above 6.0 is rare, with the last big one in 1999 near Armenia killing more than 1,100. So, Colombia, you've been served a fresh reminder of the ground's untrustworthiness.