It was 7:34 in the morning when the ground stopped being still in Colombia.
The epicenter was located just 5 kilometers from San José del Palmar, in Chocó, at a depth of 107 kilometers. That was enough for Bogotá, Cali, Manizales, Pereira, and Armenia to shake almost at the same time. In Manizales, a cathedral tower split apart, entire facades fell onto the streets, and there were injuries. In Cali, authorities flew drones overhead to assess damage they have still not finished counting. People in pajamas ran out amid sirens in a city that had been sleeping peacefully until that minute.
What no one can stop mentioning is the date. Just 47 days earlier, on June 24, a double earthquake of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 devastated Venezuela and left more than 6,000 dead. Two neighboring countries, two earthquakes greater than 7 degrees in less than two months. The United States Geological Survey confirms that these are independent earthquakes, with no proven plate connection, but on social media the question no one can silence is already circulating: what is happening beneath South America?