Parmelin: Switzerland is ready to help Colombia

Switzerland has said it is ready to support Colombia after Monday's earthquake. Swiss President Guy Parmelin posted a message on X expressing his closeness to the Colombian people and stating that Bern is watching developments closely, ready to offer its support should it become necessary. The message was also addressed to the victims and to the rescue teams working on the ground.

The wording is the usual one for the first hours. Switzerland has announced neither personnel nor materiel, but has made itself available: an offer that becomes operational only if the affected country requests it or an international organisation activates it.

The quake had a magnitude of 7.4 and struck on Monday at 7.34 local time. The epicentre lies near San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, on the border with Risaralda and Valle del Cauca. The tremor lasted about ninety-six seconds and was felt for more than four minutes in several cities.

The provisional toll released during the day spoke of at least 132 dead and around 570 injured, figures that rose in the hours that followed. The damage affects hospitals, airports and roads in the departments of Chocó, Caldas, Risaralda and Valle del Cauca: precisely the infrastructure needed to bring aid in.

The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, contacted during the day, had recorded no Swiss casualties. Verification takes time in such cases, because not every citizen abroad is listed in the consular registers and communications in the affected areas remain difficult.

Switzerland has a humanitarian aid corps that can be mobilised within hours, with teams specialising in searching under rubble and in water supply. It is the instrument used after the earthquakes in Turkey and Morocco. Its activation, however, depends on a formal request and on an assessment of what is actually needed: in the first days the critical factor is often the ability to get resources in, not their availability.

Meanwhile other countries have moved. The United States announced an initial allocation of 15.5 million dollars, and several governments have offered assistance. How much of these declarations turns into actual aid will become clear in the coming days, once it is known what Colombia needs.