In accordance with Colombia's needs, China stands ready to provide assistance within its capabilities and in an appropriate manner, to support the country's earthquake relief efforts, the China International Development Cooperation Agency announced on Tuesday.

China is closely following the strong earthquake that hit the South American nation and caused severe casualties and property damage, the CIDCA's spokeswoman Tang Ying said in an online statement.

The death toll from a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western Colombia on Monday has risen to 132, with more than 570 others injured, the Colombian government said in its latest update.

According to the preliminary report, 32 cities across the country have been seriously affected, while five departmental capitals -- Pereira, Cali, Quibdo, Manizales and Armenia - remain under red alert. Pereira reported 60 deaths, followed by Cali with 15, Quibdo with eight and Manizales with four, the report said.

A total of 86 buildings had collapsed, while operations at seven airports had been suspended due to quake-related damage.

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said earlier that the government had declared a state of national disaster to respond to the impact of the earthquake.

The Chinese Embassy in Colombia said Monday that it had activated an emergency response mechanism immediately after the quake and was checking the situation of Chinese nationals across the country. No casualties among Chinese citizens had been reported so far, the embassy said.

According to the Colombian Geological Service, the quake struck at 7:34 a.m. local time on Monday. Its epicenter was near San Jose del Palmar, in the department of Choco, at a depth of 96 km.

A powerful Monday morning earthquake has killed at least 111 and injured 87 in the west part of Colombia.

Colombia's President Abelardo de la Espriella, who came to office just three days before the earthquake, declared a state of emergency to expedite funding for the quake recovery with a plan to visit the disaster zone.

"I am at the forefront of the situation. It pains me deeply what the families and affected regions are going through," he posted on X.

According to information provided by Colombian officials by mid-afternoon, the destruction included 1,575 damaged homes, 37 homes completely destroyed, 61 collapsed buildings, scores of damaged centers of health, education and community, as well as 18 damaged roads and six airports.

Airports in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura suffered structural damage, and their flight operations were suspended, according to Colombia's Civil Aviation Authority.

The tremor was felt in Colombia's capital Bogota, which is about 400 kilometers from the epicenter, setting off alarms that prompted people to evacuate many buildings as a precaution.

"At this time there are no reports of injuries or structural damage, only some cracks in buildings," Bogota Mayor Carlos Galan posted on X.

The earthquake damaged the region's major cities including Pereira, Quibdo, Manizales and Cali.

Nubia Carolina Cordoba-Curi, governor of the Choco region, posted on X on Monday morning that "in the capital Quibdo there are injuries and severe damage to buildings".

She posted an update at 2 pm that 12 people were confirmed dead and 84 injured in Choco.

Other local authorities reported at least 40 deaths in the Risaralda region and 27 deaths in the Valle del Cauca region.

Rescue efforts to save people buried under the debris is ongoing.

According to the Colombia Geological Service, the earthquake epicenter was in San Jose del Palmar, Choco. It had a magnitude of 7.4 and a depth of approximately 103 km, making it the strongest earthquake recorded in Colombia in the last decade.

The earthquake was felt by neighboring countries Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama. It was followed by several aftershocks with magnitudes between 2.8 and 4.8, according to the agency.

The agency said that it's common for this region to experience earthquakes of considerable magnitudes due to activities associated with the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate.

Near the end of June, Venezuela was struck by two earthquakes — with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 — that were only 39 seconds apart. More than 6,000 people were killed, and tens of thousands of people remain missing under the debris.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com

BEIJING - A 7.5-magnitude earthquake jolted Colombia at 8:34 pm on Monday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The epicenter was monitored at 4.85 degrees north latitude and 76.15 degrees west longitude. The earthquake struck at a depth of 80 km, the center said.