Colombia, Earthquake of January 25, 1999
The 5.9 earthquake occurred at 13:19 local time on Monday, January 25th. It was one of the most devastating
events to have occurred in Colombia. Its economic and social impacts will be felt for a long time in Armenia and
other cities close to the epicentre such as Cordoba, Barcelona, Calarca, and Pijao.
Introduction
Armenia, which has a population of approximately 270,000, is located in
the coffee region in the western part of Colombia, an area that contributes
greatly to Colombia’s economy. Pereira, located 31 km north of Armenia,
has a population of approximately 380,000. The deep layers of volcanic
ash and volcanic sedimentary deposits, along with man-made land fill,
amplified ground motion in Armenia. River valleys have been filled to
reclaim land for housing. Severe damage was found along this fill zone. It
was in this area that the fire station was located, as was the railroad
station.
Barcelona, located on a deep-layer soft soil, suffered severe damage.
Cordoba, located on bedrock, had less damage in comparison. Pijao is
located on bedrock but because of steep slopes, a very thin sedimentary
layer on top caused a landslide. On the access road to Pijao, there were
about 103 landslides over a distance of about of 14 kilometres.
Damage to buildings
Many buildings totally collapsed, especially those built before an
earthquake proof building code was adopted in 1984. The
typical construction in this area of Colombia consists of a
reinforced concrete frame structure with either solid clay brick or
hollow clay tile infill panels, attached to the frame only with
mortar.
Masonry infill suffered heavy damage in all areas affected by the
earthquake. The strength of the infill panels was less than the
demand of the earthquake, and most of the infill panels cracked
extensively. Most of the concrete frames were undamaged or
very lightly damaged.
Heavy damage occurred in villages near the epicentre and in
Armenia (the closest city). Several neighbourhoods such as
Brasilia and La Isabela were severely damaged, with many
collapses of single family housing.
Extensive damage to the exterior and interior
masonry walls of the municipal building left it
unusable. The reinforced concrete frame was
moderately damaged in localised areas
Roads and Bridges: Several two-lane paved roads and highways were affected by the earthquake. Four roads
were blocked and three small towns were isolated due to landslides. One of the roads had about 100 landslides in
14 km, with 20 of them large enough to block the road completely. Swift re-opening of the roads was necessary so
the coffee crops could be delivered to market in Armenia.
Bridges behaved well in the affected area and no damage related to structures or settlements was observed. Near
Pereira there is a newly built cable-stayed bridge with two tall central towers and a total length of about 1 km. No
damage was observed.
Fire Station: The only fire station building in Armenia collapsed, destroying all the fire trucks. The building was a
three-story concrete frame building with masonry infill (mainly in the two top floors). According to the information
available, it was built in the 1950s. However, only one earthquake-related fire was reported in Armenia: in a
collapsed three-story building where chemical products were stored on the first floor.
Casualties
Early estimates suggested that the earthquake caused approximately 700 deaths. This number increased once all
of the rubble was removed and bodies trapped underneath the rubble recovered.
An additional 2,500 individuals were treated at the hospitals in the first five days following the earthquake.
City
Population
Deaths Injuries
Transported to other cities
Missing
Homeless/ in camps
Armenia
270,000
611
1800
??
400
35,000
Calarca
40
300
?
??
??
Barcelona 10,000
16
?
?
18
500
Pereira
380,000
40
300
0
??
450
Management of the disaster
The initial emergency response in Armenia was complicated by debris in the streets, resultant traffic jams, the loss
of telecommunications, and the collapse of the centralised fire and police department facilities. Armenia had an
emergency plan developed according to national guidelines, but with the sudden reduction in police and fire
department resources, it was difficult to carry out emergency operations in an organised and efficient manner.
According to official accounts, the initial search and rescue activities were performed by uninjured citizens and
soon continued by professional domestic personnel from Bogota and other unaffected cities.
The disruption to telephone service (landlines and cellular) made the co-ordination of these organisations next to
impossible. At least the city’s amateur radio groups were able to establish communication with rest of the country,
and were also credited with keeping the airport functioning by acting as controllers to bring in the flights carrying
emergency personnel and other resources.
An emergency council is responsible for the overall management of a disaster situation. This council is composed
of representatives from key city departments, the Colombian Red Cross and Civil Defense, a non-governmental
volunteer organisation.
Armenia’s city hall was evacuated due to uncertainty about its structural safety so it was the third day after the
earthquake before a temporary Emergency Operations Centre was established to co-ordinate emergency
operations better.
Within days, numerous international urban search and
rescue teams began arriving from Japan, Europe, the
United States, Mexico, and other Latin American countries
to assist the Colombia. The city was divided up into four
sections with the Fire Department, the Red Cross, Civil
Defense, and Japan’s team serving as the incident
commanders.
The looting that followed the earthquake was apparently
committed by opportunists from outside the city who took
advantage of the crippled status of the city’s police force.
The Colombian President quickly decided to deploy
national military personnel into Armenia to restoring law
and order and protect major commercial centres.
House in Barcelona where 11 people, who were
on the second floor at the time of the
earthquake, all escaped without any injury.
Re-housing the people
Shelter is perhaps the most critical issue currently facing Armenia. Emergency shelters have been constructed on
sidewalks, roadsides or parks by homeless people close to their destroyed homes, using plastic sheeting and
materials recovered from the debris.
Many people in the makeshift shelters are there awaiting an inspector’s decision about whether their houses can
be reoccupied or must be demolished, but there is a short supply of qualified building inspectors.
The Planning Department and the Health Department are also conducting a census of the shelters to better
understand the needs of the displaced population.
Displaced families that are not property owners are taken to one of seven temporary settlements constructed by
the government using large military tents(10-30 people) and single camping-type tents (5-7 people). Intended to be
used for six months, these settlements will have basic services (water, sanitation, and common cooking facilities).
Eventually, it is planned that these families will be relocated housing units which are to be constructed in less
vulnerable areas.
In Pereira, the city government is not allowing the construction of spontaneous shelters, nor is it setting up
temporary settlements since it wishes to avoid having them become a permanent housing alternative. This has
been possible because there are many fewer uninhabitable residences there than in Armenia.
Recovery and Reconstruction
The President has established a National Reconstruction Commission comprised of the major national
departments, representatives of the affected departments (regional units of government), mayors of the most
damaged cities, and representatives of the coffee industry. An allocation of approximately one billion dollars has
been given to the commission to initiate the recovery effort.
In Armenia, the city’s initial reconstruction strategy is based on the recently approved urban development plan,
approved by the City Council on the Sunday before the earthquake. The plan, which took a year to develop,
includes a thorough technical review of the seismic and flood hazards in the city. The plan’s most ambitious goal is
the relocation of highly vulnerable neighbourhoods, currently located in areas with man-made fill, to safer
undeveloped land surrounding the city. Many incentives will be used to accelerate the development of these safer
zones, therefore the city’s plans for reconstruction rely heavily on the financial priorities to be established by the
National Reconstruction Commission.
This information has been extracted from the following web site:
http://www.eeri.org/earthquakes/Reconn/Colombia/Colombia99c.html