Published on •Updated
The European Union will provide €2.1 million to Colombia to support its most affected areas following a deadly earthquake that tore through the South American country on Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in an online statement.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
“As search and rescue operations continue, the EU is supporting Colombia wherever possible,” she said in the statement posted on Tuesday.
The funding will provide health, water, sanitation and hygiene material, as well as shelter, food, protection and cash assistance.
The president of the EU executive added that Colombia has activated the bloc’s civil protection mechanism, which is designed to pool resources from the 27 member states to effectively provide assistance to the nation that triggered it.
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake, the worst in Colombia’s history, has killed at least 216 people and injured hundreds more.
Seriously affected cities include Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo, with emergency services now racing against the clock to pull survivors from the rubble.
Von der Leyen previously said the EU had mobilised Copernicus, the bloc’s satellite service, to help with rescue operations.
EU support is already operating on the ground, with the bloc’s humanitarian partner, the German Red Cross, reallocating €100,000 from an EU-funded project to meet the immediate needs of 2,500 families affected in Choco and Valle del Cauca.
The EU’s crisis chief, European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib, said the EU has stood alongside Bogotá throughout this crisis “from the very first hours”.
“Supporting rapid needs assessments so that first responders and urgent humanitarian assistance can reach the hardest‑hit communities,” she said.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said in the immediate aftermath of the quake that Europe stands in solidarity with those in Colombia “during these difficult times”.