While the earthquake is commonly referred to as the Neiva earthquake, the epicentre was not located in Neiva as first reported,[1] or Algeciras as later reports state,[2] yet in San Vicente del Caguán in northern Caquetá.[3] The earthquake had a moment magnitude of 7.0 and an intensity of VIII.[4] The earthquake was felt from Caracas in Venezuela in the north to Iquitos in Peru in the south and from Buenaventura in southwestern Colombia in the west to Mitú, at the border with Brazil in the east.[5] In the three days after the earthquake twenty aftershocks were felt and the seismological observation centre of Bogotá registered 350 aftershocks in the next month.[3]
The areas of Colombia, El Paraíso and Vegalarga were destroyed by the earthquake and Neiva and other populated areas in the north of Huila and south of Tolima notably affected.[8] In Neiva, 15 fatalities were counted and 100,000 people were affected.[5] Part of the church of Neiva collapsed. In the Colombian capital Bogotá, the tower of the San Juan de Dios Church collapsed as well as at least fifty walls as a result of the earthquake.[3] A total damage of 600,000 USD was estimated as a result of the earthquake,[9] of which 130,000,000 pesos in Huila alone.[10]
Velandia P., Francisco; Núñez T., Alberto; Marquínez, Germán (2001), Mapa Geológico del Departamento del Huila - 1:300,000 - Memoria explicativa, INGEOMINAS, pp. 1–150
Gómez Tapias, Jorge; Montes Ramírez, Nohora E.; Almanza Meléndez, María F.; Alcárcel Gutiérrez, Fernando A.; Madrid Montoya, César A.; Diederix, Hans (2015). Geological Map of Colombia. Servicio Geológico Colombiano. pp. 1–212. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
