Please refer to the attached file.
Bogotá, August 14, 2026. The UN System and Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) continue aligning their technical, logistical, and operational resources to support relief efforts in the areas hit hardest by the August 10 earthquake. Both entities are working closely with national and local authorities, including the Foreign Ministry, the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD), the Ministry of Health, and departmental and municipal governments, to back up the response as led by the Government of Colombia.
“Colombia isn’t facing this alone. This emergency has shown us the resilience of these communities, the solidarity of the Colombian people, the Government’s swift response, and the strength of international cooperation. Everyone is stepping up for humanity,” said María José Torres Macho, UN Resident Coordinator and head of the HCT in Colombia.
As part of this effort, a humanitarian mission traveled to San José del Palmar alongside the UN Verification Mission in Colombia to run rapid multi-sector assessments that pinpoint the most urgent needs and guide where aid goes next. Those assessments have already flagged pressing gaps in health care, water, sanitation and hygiene, protection, temporary shelter, and debris removal.
The UN System and HCT have also ramped up their operations on the ground, bringing in logistical support to reach hard-to-access areas. Working with national and local authorities, both entities deployed technical teams and additional resources to widen the response’s reach in Chocó’s affected rural communities.
Sector-specific assessments, led by the Health, Shelter, Water/Sanitation/Hygiene, Food Security, Protection, and Education in Emergencies clusters, are shaping the response by identifying gaps and setting priorities. Alongside this, humanitarian partners are delivering immediate aid at shelters and evacuation sites, distributing essential supplies, providing health care, water, and sanitation support, running food assistance, offering psychosocial support, and issuing multi-purpose cash transfers.
Key actions on the ground
- Preliminary assessments in San José del Palmar keep indicating urgent needs in health care, water, sanitation and hygiene, temporary shelter, and debris removal.
- Humanitarian clusters, working with Local Coordination Teams in Quibdó, Cali, and Buenaventura, remain active and are coordinating the response across both local and national levels.
- UNHCR deployed teams within hours of the earthquake and, drawing on its existing presence in Cali, Buenaventura, and Quibdó, is now distributing Refugee Housing Units, solar lamps, and hygiene kits to strengthen protection and emergency shelter in rural, hard-to-reach areas.
- UNICEF handed out hygiene kits in Quibdó and arranged for a water tanker truck to deliver clean, safe water to 600 people in one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods. It will also help set up safe spaces and psychosocial support services for children, adolescents, and their families.
- UNFPA is delivering dignity kits to women and young people, sharing information on preventing gender-based violence, and providing sexual and reproductive health supplies. UNFPA is also leading national coordination efforts on gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health alongside partner institutions and organizations.
- IOM sent support to Chocó to register disaster victims, stepped into a co-leadership role of the Shelter Cluster alongside NRC, and is providing technical assistance for managing temporary shelters. It’s also helping hospitals in Quibdó, Istmina, and Riosucio build up their response capacity by supplying equipment, medical supplies, and personal protective gear.
- In Cali, IOM, UNHCR, WFP, the Ombudsman’s Office, local authorities, and community members carried out site visits to temporary and community shelters to assess needs and response capacity.
- The Norwegian Refugee Council distributed shelter kits in Quibdó and sent its rapid response team to Buenaventura to provide cash transfers and quickly repair municipal shelters.
- The MIRE+ consortium — led by NRC together with Action Against Hunger, Médicos del Mundo, and Pastoral Social — launched a humanitarian health response in Pereira and Buenaventura.
- Organizations from Colombia’s Humanitarian NGO Forum have also mobilized across the affected departments. Some are still conducting needs assessments, while others have already distributed hygiene, shelter, food, menstrual health, and infant care kits, and are providing primary health care, psychosocial support, temporary learning spaces, and specialized care for pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under six — all in coordination with local partners.
For more information, see the latest Flash Update.
Support mechanisms remain open to channel contributions toward strengthening the humanitarian response. Donations help expand assistance in the areas identified as most urgent and in greatest need.
Donation link:
Donate to Emergency Relief | Colombia: A powerful earthquake hits communities already facing humanitarian needs | UN Crisis Relief.
Press contacts in Colombia
- UN Information Centre and Resident Coordinator’s Office
Juan Diez-Jimenez
diezj@un.org - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Humanitarian Country Team
Johana Botia-Diaz
johana.botia@un.org