On August 10, 2026, at 07:34:27 local time, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia, with its epicenter located near San José del Palmar in the department of Chocó. According to the Servicio Geológico Colombiano (SGC) and official emergency reports, the severe seismic activity affected 455 municipalities across 15 departments, triggering over 325 aftershocks.
The disaster has left 294 dead, 3,935 injured, 320 missing, and over 115,000 people directly affected.
The Colombia-Ecuador Delegation of the Order of the Minister of the Infirms (Camillians) faces a critical situation. Community houses and pastoral centers in Medellín, Cali, Popayán, and Pereira sustained physical damage. Beyond the structural impact, the suspension of local pastoral activities has severely disrupted the community's capacity to deliver crucial social, health, and spiritual support to suffering families.
Key Emergency Objectives:
- Save lives, alleviate immediate suffering, and support early community recovery.
- Secure basic sanitation, hygiene, medications, and emergency food aid for displaced parishioners.
- Restore damaged facilities to re-establish vital pastoral, social, and healthcare outreach.
Targeted Action in Cali: Reconstruction & Community Solidarity
In Cali, emergency intervention focuses heavily on the Divine Mercy Ministerial Community in the Tequendama neighborhood (Carrera 43A # 5C – 32). The quake left severe cracks on the walls, damaged kitchen infrastructure, and destroyed roughly 80% of essential household items and glassware. Crucially, the temporary suspension of pastoral services at key chaplaincies—such as San Lucas Hospital Parish and the Imbanaco Clinic—has disrupted local support networks.
To address this, the planned strategy in Cali deploys a phased, two-pronged recovery model grounded in co-responsibility and human dignity:
Comprehensive Community Care: Pairing physical construction work with direct human, nutritional, medical, and spiritual support to help households regain long-term stability.
How You Can Help
CADIS International urgently requires rapid mobilization of resources to aid vulnerable displaced families.
Stand with those affected in their hour of dire need:
Donate directly to the CADIS Emergency Fund to provide immediate relief, humanitarian aid, and essential shelter reconstruction to families and communities suffering from this disaster.
1. BANK TRANSFER
CC: INTESA SANPAOLO s.p.a.
To: FONDAZIONE CAMILLIAN DISASTER SERVICE INTERNATIONAL
IBAN: IT19G0306909606100000144767
BIC/SWIFT Code: BCITITMMXXX
or
CC: BPER
To: CAMILLIAN DISASTER SERVICE INTERNATIONAL - CADIS
IBAN: IT22Q0538703267000049635269
BIC/SWIFT Code: BPMOIT22XXX
2. PAYPAL: Directly through the website https://www.cadisinternational.org/en/come-puoi-aiutarci-dona-ora
3. For US residents: You can donate through the St Camillus Foundation and benefit from tax deductions https://stcam.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/stcam/donation.jsp
