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7.4 Magnitude Earthquake Sparks Evacuations In Colombia; Israel Rejects U.S. Plan, Demands Hamas Disarm First; UNICEF: 300 Children Reported Killed Since October Ceasefire; Columbia Rocked By 7.4 Magnitude Earthquake; White House Hails Booming Economy Despite Weak July Jobs Data; Reports Of Collapsed Buildings In Colombia After Earthquake. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired August 10, 2026 - 10:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:45]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the second hour of the show. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London, and we begin with breaking news. A 7.4
magnitude earthquake has struck Western Colombia. according to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter was in San Jose del Palmar, about 280
kilometers west of Bogota.
The tremors were felt in several cities, including the capital, where the shaking set off alarms and sent people into the streets. Bogota's mayor
said on social media there are no reports of injuries or structural damage.
But I want to bring in CNN Cecilia Dominguez from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Look, details at the moment of in the initial aftermath of this quake are
few and far between. But can you just tell us what you know first of all about where and when this quake struck and how strong it was?
CECILIA DOMINGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Christina. How are you? 7.4 magnitude earthquake was recorded this morning in western Colombia with
tremors that were felt in several cities across the country, and this was according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was located in San
Jose del Palmar in the department of Choco, which is about 280 kilometers west of Bogota, the nation's capital, at a depth of 107 kilometers. It was
recorded at 7:34 a.m. It's 8:34 a.m. Miami time.
And in Bogota, the nation's capital, as I said, the tremor was felt strongly. There were alarms that sounded, and in many buildings, people
evacuated to the streets as a precaution.
We have to remember that this happens more than one month after this powerful twin earthquakes that devastated parts of Venezuela. So, imagine
how impacted people from Colombia are to be -- to be experiencing a situation like this.
The mayor Carlos Galan, Bogota's Mayor Carlos Galan said on X. At this time, there are no reports of injuries or structural damage. Only some
cracks in buildings. That's what he posted on social media on X.
The story is still developing, Christina, and people are reacting on social media with videos. As I said, the tremor was felt as strongly, alarmed,
sounded, and in many buildings, people evacuated to the street as a -- as a precaution. We'll keep you informed with all the details.
MACFARLANE: All right, Cecilia. Obviously, this is a developing story. We'll continue to keep across it this hour and follow these developments as
we come.
Oh, actually, Cecilia, while we have you, you talk there about Bogota's mayor saying on social media there are no reports of injuries and
structural damage. Do we expect that to change, though? Given you've just said there that this earthquake took place at around 7:30 a.m. in the
morning, obviously this is going to be a sort of very busy time when everyone is heading to work.
You know, there was -- there would be quite a lot of activity on the streets, people heading into high-rise buildings. What are your
expectations for, you know, how widespread this was and how likely we are to see reports of damage and injuries come in?
DOMINGUEZ: I think we should have to wait in order to -- well, you know, it was 7:34 a.m., it was -- it was on Monday and many people were going to
work because of that time of the -- of the day is very busy and I've seen some videos on social media, people just trying to register what was
happening on the streets.
But I would say that we should wait until we have more information, checked information, just to be sure not to bring information that's not correct,
the mayor said that there are no reports of injuries or structural damage. He only mentioned some cracks in buildings. We've seen videos on social
media with buildings very damaged, but I would say that out of respect, we should wait and try to figure out what's the story going.
I mean, it's still developing, and there are a lot of information like going on on social media. And at least the official now -- for now, what's
official is what the Bogota mayor said. Even though on social media we've seen videos with very damaged buildings.
[10:05:49]
MACFARLANE: OK, Cecilia, thank you very much for now. I want to bring in Stefano Pozzebon who is joining me now from Rome, but is someone who has
extensively covered not that long ago the earthquakes, the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela.
And Stefano, I mean, I'm sure this is going to be very much front and center of people's minds, given that disaster only took place less than two
months ago. Can you tell us, Stefano, knowing the region as you do, what the area around the epicenter here looks like? I understand it's quite a
mountainous region.
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: Yes, exactly, Christina. Surely the images of the Venezuelan earthquake less than two months ago is
particularly devastation in the areas of La Guaira, which is where the most of the damages in Venezuela were concentrated, clearly will be like you
said, center mind for many people in Colombia.
However, we can already establish some key differences in the fact that the west of Colombia is a sparsely populated area. Jose del Palmar is a small
village in the Choco Department. Yes, it's hilly, it's mountainous, but it's also very much in the deep of the jungle, so you don't have
concentration of the population.
The largest urban areas are hundreds of kilometers away, and I'm talking about Medellin and the area of the Eje Cafetero, which is the center region
of Colombia, where some of the best coffee in the world comes from, and where some of the cities have been impacted, cities like Manizales,
Pereira.
For now, we are understanding, like I was on the phone trying to make sure that all of the people that I know and fond of down in in Colombia after
living there for six years, are safe and many of them who have perhaps family, relatives, or friends in the areas most affected by the immediate
aftermath of this earthquake were already able to reach out to their family, to their relatives, and to locate them.
It seems that compared to the one in Venezuela, where the area most affected was heavily urbanized area, with high-rise buildings that
immediately collapsed on top of each other. Here, we're not seeing the same level of destruction.
Perhaps we'll be waiting to hear from the authorities, for sure. And Christina, the Colombian president swore in just over the weekend. It was
August the 7th, and this will be an already immediate early challenge to the new presidency of Abelardo de la Espriella, who takes over a country
that is deeply divided, and of course, a lot of people will be looking at his performance in dealing with a fresh natural disaster crisis. That is,
of course, the worst nightmare for a young leader of state just at the beginning of his mandate.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and on that point, Stefano, I mean, this is the first crisis essentially that he's going to face. His first major challenge.
POZZEBON: Yes, exactly, and a lot of people will be looking at how he responds to that. Perhaps you know there are crises that unify a nation,
and Colombia could definitely use some help in that regard. Or there are crises that, of course, can sink a presidency. He has been in the office
for less than a week, and he already is facing this level of a crisis.
The initial reports do not suggest the same level of destruction as I was saying, as in -- as in Venezuela. But of course, it's very very early, and
we'll be hearing eagerly from the authorities whenever they're ready to make some assessment or statement, Christina.
MACFARLANE: And we -- yes, and we will bring that to our viewers here on CNN. It's a story we'll continue to follow in the hours ahead. Stefano, for
now, thank you very much.
Turning now, though, to new questions and friction over the future of Gaza, with Israel saying it will not agree to a 15-point plan laid out by Donald
Trump's Board of Peace. The Israeli Prime Minister says specifically that the IDF would not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas disarms. Hamas is in turn
calling on the U.S. to pressure Israel into sticking to the plan. One Palestinian in Gaza City says the board of peace needs to put ordinary
people first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[10:10:20]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Message to the board of peace is to feel for us, honestly. Every day they put new clauses. They agree on this.
They reject that. Honestly, our life has become very, very difficult.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Jeremy Diamond is in Jerusalem. And Jeremy, how significant a rift is this between the U.S. and Israel, two long-time geopolitical
allies?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it remains to be seen somewhat. I mean, we haven't seen any reaction from President Trump,
and you know, he hasn't been shy in the past of publicly criticizing the Israeli Prime Minister when he does get frustrated with him.
The response we're getting behind the scenes from American and Board of Peace officials is that for now they seem to be taking the prime minister's
comments as a bit of kind of election campaigning. One board of peace official told us that everyone has politics and may be accentuating certain
points for election purposes, saying that they are focused on actions, not rhetoric. And when it comes to the actions, they say that they are seeing
privately cooperation behind the scenes from the Israelis.
And it is important to note that what we have seen publicly also indicates a certain change in behavior from the Israelis since Hamas agreed to this
deal and President Trump announced it publicly as a historic agreement. We've seen a significant decrease in Israeli military strikes in the Gaza
Strip, for example, and privately, an Israeli source told us that there has been a change in the approval process for targeted killings, drone strikes
in the Gaza Strip that now have to be approved by the Israeli military's chief of staff.
And that suggests at least a partial cooperation from the Israelis at the request of the Americans who want this plan to be able to move forward.
But make no mistake, publicly, this is still quite significant for the Israeli prime minister to come out and publicly reject out of hand a plan
that President Trump only 10 days earlier trumpeted not only as historic, he called it a monumental step for lasting peace and security, and here's
the Israeli Prime Minister saying that he only supports genuine disarmament of Hamas, not fictitious disarmament. Suggesting that that is what is
included in this plan, that is very much backed by the United States and by President Trump directly.
So, it remains to be seen how much Israel will continue to cooperate behind the scenes with this plan, but it is also clear that what is driving the
Israeli Prime Minister right now is a focus on the upcoming Israeli election slated to take place at the end of October and maintaining his far
right allies like the National Security Minister Ben Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, both of whom basically made some pretty
clear threats as it relates to this plan if it moved forward, demanding that it be brought for a vote before the Israeli Parliament.
And ultimately, what you saw was the Israeli Prime Minister, who had already criticized this 15-point plan, coming out and making that criticism
even more emphatic, saying that he rejects it out of hand.
MACFARLANE: Jeremy Diamond with the latest. Thank you, Jeremy.
And as the world leaders go back and forth on Gaza's future, the reality inside the territory remains dire. The U.N. says the overall humanitarian
situation is brutal, and despite a ceasefire being announced in October last year, deadly attacks have continued.
UNICEF says at least 300 children are reported to have been killed since the ceasefire. That's an average of one child a day. I want to bring in
UNICEF's global spokesperson, James Elder, who has more on the crisis civilians in Gaza are facing on a daily basis.
James, really good to see you. I just want to start there with that statistic, the 300 children have been killed in Gaza in roughly 300 days
since October the 10th. There has clearly been no peace and no real ceasefire for Gaza and its children.
JAMES ELDER, GLOBAL SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: No, absolutely, Christina. There's been no peace dividend, no sense that they can. You know, the
basics of a ceasefire, what does that mean for a mom and dad? What does it mean for a child? Surely you go to bed safely, you sleep safely, you wake
up to a -- to a meal, and you go to school. That's not the reality.
And as you say, 300 children killed, and these were not children accidentally killed in a battlefield. They were killed in their homes. They
were killed in schools. They were killed playing football. They were killed by bombs, by quadcopters. This has continued, and it's all the fears we
had, Christina, about these things being normalized. You know, we have got to a point where, you know, imagine the international outrage that that 300
children being killed in the space of one a day for 300 days would provoke anywhere else in the world, and that's not the case here.
[10:15:10]
So, there's no peace dividend for girls and boys. There's a lot of trauma. There's limited water, terrible sanitation. I have almost daily moms who
I've met in the past in Gaza messaging me showing horrific skin diseases for children, or children bleeding from skin diseases because they don't
have the cream. Moms explaining, or pregnant moms explaining, you know, I have one meal a day. I give it to my child. That means their baby will be
malnourished. So, yes, it is exactly as you said. It's a -- it's a -- it's an atrocious situation still somehow for girls and boys in Gaza.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and I know you were I think last in Gaza earlier this year. Can you describe the scene that you were met with there, and what the
situation is like for children on a day-to-day basis. Just so our viewers have a really good idea.
ELDER: Yes, I mean, firstly, you've got a level of trauma that we've not seen anywhere. We've never been able to say, sadly or thankfully, every
single child in a place is traumatized, and that's the reality.
And we thought, as all child psychologists said to me during the peak of this war on children, that once the bombs stop, only then can we start to
address this. But the bombs never stop. The bombs haven't stopped during that ceasefire. So, trauma continues.
Now, UNICEF's managed to get hundreds of thousands of children back into school. That's a game changer. But it's still only one in two children.
Now, there's still a great lack of water, the sanitation. Maybe your viewers saw that there was a rat infestation. I mean, the dehumanization of
girls and boys. You know the idea that they're still living in tents. They had homes. We're now at the peak of summer.
Europeans, where I am in Europe right now, Christina, Europeans are being told, you know, careful outdoors, drink so much water. In Gaza, you choose
between, do you have water to wash with and try and fix some of those scabies and skin diseases, or do you drink your water? That's a reality
there.
And so, for us as humanitarians, the most basic thing: still some medical supplies, repairing water systems. We're denied those things. We denied,
Christina, solar fridges for vaccines. You know, spare parts for generators.
So, no peace dividend. A lot of fear for girls and boys, and absolutely exhausted parents who -- I don't know, it's a -- it's a very troubling
thing when a mom or a dad realizes they -- that they can no longer protect their child, Christina, and I think that they thought, as a ceasefire came,
that may start to shift, and it just hasn't. There's denials, there's restrictions. Israel remains the only country in the world who determines
what another population eats and how much of it they can eat.
So, it's exhausting. As a colleague of mine said through tears the other day, James, we're keeping people alive. That's it. There is no dignity.
MACFARLANE: And on the point of Israel and their messaging on this, James, I mean, what are they saying to you about how much aid can come in to the
Gaza Strip? Which let's remember is become -- is decreasing -- increasingly decreasing. I think there's about, you know, roughly a third -- families
are being squeezed into roughly a third of the Gaza Strip now.
ELDER: Yes, that's a really important point. I heard your correspondent speaking about that, about the peace plans. Of course, it's political, it's
outside of my mandate as a humanitarian. And -- but the U.N. -- the U.N. envoy for Gaza was very clear, Christina, that, you know, all parties must
fulfill their commitments. Now, that can seem complicated with 15 point plans and 20 point plans.
What's not complicated is that as the ceasefire began, you know, Israel controlled just over half, 53 percent of the Gaza Strip. It's already one
of the most densely populated places. So, people being pushed into a smaller area.
What we did not expect was during a ceasefire for Israel to control more and more. It's almost now at 70 percent. So, you've now got children and
families pushed into around 30 percent of the Gaza Strip. Now, that's less room for schools. It's less room for tents. It's less room for agriculture.
I mean, 90 percent of agriculture has been destroyed in Gaza. 90 percent of schools damaged or destroyed. 90 percent of home. Well, more. I don't know
the number, but just 92 percent of homes damaged or destroyed. Same with hospitals.
Now, how has that happened? That's happened because thousands of tons of explosives have been dropped, and now you push that population,
traumatized, hungry, recovering from a famine, into a smaller area.
Now, again, I'm very proud of what my colleagues who somehow continue to do. You know, we remove a thousand tons of waste, Christina. Every single
month, we have got those hundreds of nutrition centers because once we were allowed to bring in some aid, the famine was reversed because it was always
engineered. This was not in some faraway place. It wasn't climate related.
[10:20:05]
Once we could track and trace under fives, we could treat them, but it's so perilous. And most kids are eating bread, they're not eating nutritious
food. There's no diversity there. We're seeing spikes in pregnant women, as I say, because pregnant moms, if they've got children, are giving a meal to
a child over 5-year-olds.
Again, they might have a weight for age level in terms of their weight's OK, but they're eating bread. They're not eating nutritious food. We know
what that does to a child over time in terms of cognitive decline and stunting. That's terrifying for UNICEF. It's terrifying for moms and dads
in a -- in a place that places so much emphasis on education of their children, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and also James, beyond the physical dangers, we know this has been described by aid workers as a generation of children stripped of
childhood. You mentioned there that UNICEF have been trying to deliver, I think, school supplies into (AUDIO GAP) to coincide with the start of the
school year. What hope is there of children finding any sort of stimulating environments, you know, like learning environments needed for development,
and also to come -- to help them come to terms with their trauma?
ELDER: It's a great question. During the war, for two years after the horrors of October 7, we were banned from bringing in a pencil, a notebook.
That's -- your viewers. I can't understand that how you could possibly ban education, except of course it's so important to Palestinians.
Look, there remains hope. It might be their blind spot, as a Palestinian doctor told me, because they're aware of the realities. They're so sick of
promises and plans and so forth, but in January, I saw a graduation. The graduation photos at Shifa Hospital of 200 medical students. They studied
for five years and spent two years of the war living in tents, watching loved ones killed, and working in a absolute war zone of a hospital for
their two-year internship.
So, it's incredible the way that Palestinians and Gazans can bounce back, and it's not a cliche, Christina. It's because of that education of
engineering and logistics and medical and so on.
But that is being squashed. When UNICEF's got hundreds of thousands of children in school, they're there for half a week, and for every child in
school, another one is not in school. We can't bring in school furniture, so we try to build it out of crates.
So, moms and dads and grandparents will do everything they possibly can. But like all these things, these are not logistical problems. This is
political will. You know, Israel and the United States make a decision to finally allow Palestinian children to breathe, to go to school, to go to
sleep safely, to get enough water, then things start to change. Until that sincerely happens, then, you know, we keep seeing the horrific images and
moms and children just absolutely broken after what's almost three years of this.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and as you know, James, you know journalists, media still not permitted to enter the enclave to report on what's going on there,
which is why accounts like yours are so important and why it's still important for us to talk as we are today.
James Elder, thank you very much.
All right, let's go back to our breaking news. We're getting some new images from Colombia after a 7.4 earthquake struck almost two hours ago,
these pictures are from Cali, which is south of the epicenter in San Jose del Palmar. You can see there some destruction to the exterior of the
buildings. We will keep you updated on this breaking news and bring you developments as we learn them.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Much more news ahead. Stay with us.
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[10:25:58]
MACFARLANE: The U.S. is ramping up economic pressure on Iran to try to end the stalemate over the Strait of Hormuz that's being suggested by Donald
Trump. The U.S. president is also saying Washington is "Low-keying negotiations with Tehran."
In Iran, the new security chief has said he's skeptical of negotiations with the U.S. We'll have more on that in a moment. But we've also been
hearing from Iran's foreign ministry about security in the Gulf.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESMAEIL BAGHAEI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON (through translator): Given the developments of the past two or three years, the
regional countries have realized that security is not a commodity that can be purchased from dishonest brokers or security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, in June, CNN's Frederik Pleitgen interviewed Mohsen Rezaei when he was then military adviser to Iran's new supreme leader,
Fred's joining us now.
So, Fred, what more can you tell us about Iran's new security chief?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the new head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. You're absolutely right,
Christina. He's someone who's been a big military figure in Iran really since the beginning of the Islamic Republic in 1970. He was a commander on
the ground during the Iran-Iraq War, then became the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is of course the elite wing of Iran's
military, and he retired from that post in 1997. But really has been on several important governing bodies in Iran.
Now, the thing is, when the United States assassinated then Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his son Mojtaba Khamenei, took over, and he really
seems to trust Mohsen Rezaei. Immediately making him his senior military adviser, now putting him at the helm of the Supreme National Security
Council.
At a time when, of course, you have this standoff going on between the United States and Iran over the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, and I
asked Mohsen Rezaei in that interview that we had specifically about that. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: The American side has also said that they are not going to accept a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz. Are you willing to open the
Strait of Hormuz completely for all traffic?
MOHSEN REZAEI, THEN-MILITARY ADVISER TO IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER (through translator): Look, the Strait of Hormuz belongs to us and to the country of
Oman. Any kind of foreign interference in the Strait of Hormuz is also interference in Iran's internal affairs. No other country in the world is
willing to let America become a partner in the Strait of Hormuz.
And the interference of foreign powers in the Strait of Hormuz is a kind of monopolizing of global trade. So, we have about 30 ships coming and doing
business every day from the routes that Iran has determined. We consider the management of the Strait of Hormuz ours.
Managing the Strait of Hormuz costs money. Protecting the environment in the Strait of Hormuz costs money. Securing the Strait of Hormuz costs
money. Providing services for the passage of ships costs money. Iran's problem is money.
Whether America says we should pay for the costs of the Strait of Hormuz from the taxes of the Iranian people or not, we should take the costs of
managing the Strait of Hormuz from the ships that want to benefit. Therefore, we are not willing to pay for the cost of the Strait of Hormuz
from the taxes of the Iranian people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: Now we have to keep in mind, of course, Christina, this was in early June. A lot has happened since then, but still, of course, the Strait
of Hormuz remains a flashpoint between the United States and the Iranian side.
But you can tell there that Mohsen Rezaei certainly has a pretty hardline view on whom the Strait of Hormuz he believes belongs to, and that's one of
the things that people say. They call him a hardline pragmatist, and we certainly seem to get that impression as well in our interview with him.
On the one hand, pretty hardline views on things like the Strait of Hormuz on negotiations with the United States, but at the same time also saying
that if there is a peace agreement, a wider peace agreement between the United States and Iran in the future, that that could certainly lead to a
reset in relations between the two countries, Christina.
[10:30:03]
MACFARLANE: Yes, and we will of course watch to see how this influences negotiations with the U.S. moving forward.
Fred, great to have you. Thank you.
Now, Syria says it has reached a new agreement with Russia over two key military sites along the Mediterranean coast, after months of intense
negotiations.
A Syrian statement calls it an arrangement that reorganizes Moscow's use of the facilities. Under the new agreement, Syria says it will take control of
the civilian operations at the airbase near Latakia and the commercial berth at Tartus Port.
The military facilities at both sites will become joint training centers. Russia has not yet commented on the changes.
Well, you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. There is much more news ahead this hour. Do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Christina Macfarlane. Here are your headlines.
The Israeli Prime Minister has rejected a 15-point Gaza peace plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace. Benjamin Netanyahu says no
Israeli troops will be withdrawn until Hamas is fully disarmed.
The comments come after President Trump announced that a deal had been breached with Hamas to give up its weapons.
Regarding Iran, President Trump says Washington is "low-keying" negotiations and putting more focus on economic pressure instead. "Tehran",
meantime, says it won't reopen the Strait-of Hormuz until the U.S. honors some tough demands, including compensating Iran for war damage and
unfreezing Iranian assets.
Russian authorities say at least 13 people were killed in a Ukrainian drone strike deep inside the country. CNN has geolocated social media video
showing a massive fire and thick smokes -- a thick cloud of smoke from the reported site of the attack.
This marks one of the deadliest attacks to hit Russia in more than two years.
Now, we will return to our breaking news this hour, in an earthquake in western Colombia. The U.S. Geological Survey says it was a magnitude 7.4,
with the epicenter in San Jose del Palmar, about 280 kilometers west of Bogota.
Tremors were felt in several cities. This video you are seeing here is from Cali. Appears to show the moment as the earthquake struck and was shaking
the country.
Let's bring in Rafael Romo, joining us from Atlanta.
Rafa, what more at this stage do we know about the quake.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christina, the earthquake happened at 7:34 in the morning, local time in Colombia, 8:34 a.m. Eastern Time in
the United States, and had a -- as you mentioned before, a 7.4 magnitude according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
[10:35:09]
The epicenter was in San Jose del Palmar. This is in Colombia's Choco province, about 280 kilometers west of Bogota, the Colombian capital, and
had a depth of 107 kilometers.
We are getting reports that the quake was felt in multiple cities across Colombia. The governor of Choco, Nubia Carolina Cordova Curi, confirmed
that in her province's capital, Quibdo, there are injuries and serious damage to buildings, and expressed concern about possible aftershocks.
In Bogota, the tremor was felt strongly, alarms went off, and in many buildings, people evacuated into the streets as a precaution.
Also, Bogota Mayor Carlos Galan said on next that, and here I am quoting at this time: There are no reports of damage, only some cracks in buildings.
Meanwhile, in Medellin, Colombia's second-largest city, its mayor reported that a strong tremor on his X account, and later, authorities are assessing
if there is any damage in the city.
We are also getting images of extensive damage, Christina, in Cali, Colombia's third largest city. Reuters is reporting that there are
collapsed buildings and significant damage in Cali, and is feeding images of what appears to be a multi-story building in a residential area. But so
far, we have no other information from authorities or first responders.
The earthquake happened, again, at 7:34 in the morning local time; in Colombia, 8:34 a.m. Eastern Time, and had a 7.4 magnitude, according to the
U.S. Geological Survey. Its epicenter, once more was located in Colombia's Choco Province, about 280 kilometers west of Bogota, the country's capital.
Christina.
MACFARLANE: All right. Thank you so much for now.
Let's turn to Susan Hough, who's a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. She is joining us now live. Susan, thank you.
What are the dangers of an earthquake of that magnitude? We were hearing there is 7.4 in such a mountainous area where the epicenter is.
SUSAN HOUGH, SEISMOLOGIST, UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Yes, 7.4 is people know a massive earthquake. The good news, if there is any good news
is that it was 100 kilometers deep. The seafloor sinks under South America, and where that sea floor sinks, there are earthquakes within the old
seafloor, what we call the slab. This is quite large for that type of earthquake, 7.4. Usually, they are smaller than that.
The fact that it's a hundred kilometers down, makes -- it puts the energy away from people live. So, this earthquake, we don't expect it to have been
as severe as the Venezuela earthquake, for example, which was more shallow.
But it is still quite large. An estimated 1.5 million people experienced estimated intensity seven shaking, and that strong enough to cause damage.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and given how large it was, I mean, we just had our reporter saying there that there is concern about aftershocks. How wary
should people be that you know there could still be more to come?
HOUGH: People always need to be mindful that, that aftershocks are possible. These intermediate depth earthquakes, as we call them, they don't
tend to produce as many aftershocks as more shallow earthquakes do. So, that's another bit of good news. But the aftershocks are possible.
MACFARLANE: And given that it caused significant damages across quite a large region, we were saying there in Colombia's third largest city, the
mayor of Cali, saying 20 collapsed structures are in the city.
I mean, it's very hard at this point to predict, and we wouldn't want to speculate on the damage, but what would be the immediate concern with an
earthquake of that magnitude, in terms of how much it could impact infrastructure and obviously people's lives?
HOUGH: So, intensity seven shaking might knock down a chimney of a California house, but if there is poorly built, more vulnerable
construction, intensity seven can cause collapse. And I've seen some images on social media suggesting that some structures did collapse. So, this is
an earthquake that we expect will have significant damage and probably also loss of life.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and of course, you know, coming so soon after the Venezuela earthquakes, which we know were devastating in very packed urban
areas, this will be front and center of many people's minds until we know more.
But thank you very much for giving us your analysis. This is something we will, of course, continue to watch closely.
[10:40:04]
And you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with us. More news after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: We just want to bring you an update on our "BREAKING NEWS" story this hour. Colombia has been rocked by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake
that has hit a rural region of Colombia, but the quake was felt for many miles around that. Damage reported across the country and as far as Bogota.
Details at this moment are few and far between, but we are chasing, of course, any updates on significant damage, loss of life, how many people
may have been injured by this, with some reports coming in of collapsed buildings. We will of course continue to bring you that as we get it, and
how far and how wide the impact of this earthquake has hit.
As we await key U.S. inflation data out this week, the White House is painting an optimistic picture of an American economy, despite a
disappointing July jobs report.
Now, you may recall the U.S. unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs last month, falling very short of analysts' expectations. President Trump's top
adviser, Kevin Hassett, blamed a reduction in government workers and the end of the FIFA World Cup, in part, for the numbers, and offended the
administration's overall economic record.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: The bottom line is that if you look at the overall economy, then things are really,
really booming. As an example, there are 83,000 construction workers building factories right now. That's a number that we've never seen before.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance are the lowest they have been since World War II.
There are more job openings than there are unemployed workers. So, there are all these things that suggested the numbers should have been really
strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: CNN senior reporter Matt Egan is covering the latest from New York. So, a very optimistic picture painted there, Matt. And let's start
with the numbers. July showed a loss of 23,000 jobs, and the previous two months were revised down sharply.
When you look past the political spin here, what is the data actually telling us about the health of the U.S. economy right now?
MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Christina, it's really hard to square that description we just heard of a really booming economy with the
economic data or the public polling.
Now, an economy that is really booming, you would normally expect to see 10s or even hundreds of 1000s of jobs added to payrolls every month. But
that is not happening right now. As you just noticed, we are actually seeing the opposite.
In fact, even when you just look at the last three months, this is an economy that has a lot fewer jobs than we realized, right? Because May was
revised lower by 66,000, June by 37,000, and then July was 118,000 worse than the consensus.
[10:45:04]
So, you put it together, it's about a quarter of a million jobs fewer in this economy than economists had anticipated just a week ago or so.
And look, yes, it's definitely true that the stock market is doing well, the S&P 500 at all-time highs. And yes, spending on artificial intelligence
for businesses, that is on fire.
But if the job market were really firing at all cylinders, you would expect more and more workers to be coming off the sidelines. But that's not
happening. The labor force participation has gone down, and that's partially because of demographic reasons, aging baby boomers, the
immigration crackdown. But it's key because limiting labor force participation, that's something that can also limit how fast the overall
economy can grow because there's just not enough workers.
Another thing to pay attention to is wages. When the job market is actually booming, what happens is bosses, they have to spend more for talent, to
attract talent and to keep the workers that they have. But that's not actually happening right now. We have seen wage growth in July; it cooled
to 3.1 percent. That is a five-year low, and the worst part for workers is that is trailing inflation.
The Cleveland Fed thinks that inflation is going to come in on Wednesday for July at 3.4 percent. So, that means if you adjust worker paychecks for
inflation, they are actually falling right now. So, you put it all together. Look, Wall Street is booming, but the polling and the economic
numbers, they suggest that Main Street economy is not booming right now. Back to you.
MACFARLANE: All right. Matt Eagan, thanks very much. More of this, much more, as we look ahead to the Midterms.
Now, prosecutors in Dublin charged alleged Irish crime boss Daniel Kinahan with directing a criminal organization after he was extradited to Ireland
on a government plane from the United Arab Emirates. Kinahan had been living openly in Dubai for the last decade, organizing high-profile boxing
matches.
Kinahan is also wanted by the U.S., which has accused him of being one of three leaders of the Kinahan crime organization. The U.S. designated the
group a transnational criminal organization four years ago.
Irish police say the gang went from selling heroin locally to operating all across Europe, Kinahan has previously denied accusations that he is a crime
boss.
And returning to our "BREAKING NEWS". At least 20 buildings have collapsed in Cali after 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Colombia moments ago. That's
according to the city's mayor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE (voice over): Social media footage shows how the powerful quake made a church in the town of Pereira shake. As you can see here in this
image, partially collapsing its facade there, you can see at the front.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: I want to bring in Carlos Alberto Vargas from the National University of Columbia. He leads the geophysical research group at the
university's Department of Geosciences. Thank you for joining us.
Firstly, can you tell us: Does the country have the infrastructure to handle such a major earthquake like this, 7.4?
CARLOS ALBERTO VARGAS, DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF COLOMBIA: Well, in this area, we have a currently, periodically, events of
this -- of this magnitude, well, not so large. This is a -- actually, a very, very high magnitude we are expecting. We were expecting.
Actually, the last earthquake with over seven magnitude occurs in 2005. That was -- yes, '04 or '05. Those earthquakes are more or less -- more or
less try. A lot to the cities of the wester of Colombia, is along the history of the wester of Colombia. For example, in, at least, five
earthquakes with magnitudes over six struck cities like Cali, Manizales, Pereira, and Armenia. All those earthquakes are basically coming for or
associated to subduction. This is of the -- one of the main sources of largest earthquakes in the area.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and can you tell me -- you know, we are talking about Cali there. We know that the mayor has said that, you know. there have been -- a
reported 20 collapsed structures in the city.
Can you tell us more about the area that was hit? What it looks like? I understand it is quite rural and mountainous.
[10:49:59]
VARGAS: Well, Cali and the surrounding areas are based on -- are on the valley of the Cauca River, the sediments of this area promote on
amplification of the waves. It is something very well documented in other part of the world. Here in Colombia, in particular, in Cali, this is. is
something we were expecting.
The structural design code of the city is -- has been updated in recent years, and it has -- it has accounted this sort of effects. But there are
many constructions with older cuts of constructions. So, it is probably that all these structures collapsed because are now on the -- on the rules
of the new code of constructions.
MACFARLANE: I don't -- I just want to show our viewers a video coming to us from inside the airport in Colombia, Pereira. Let's just take a brief pause
to look at this. One minute.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Professor, I don't know if you can see, but I mean, there are very dramatic images coming to us from an airport in Pereira, which seems
to show the collapse of some of the building on the inside. People running to get away.
Whereabouts is Pereira Airport located? In terms of how far it is from the epicenter, as you understand it?
VARGAS: Well, the epicenter is not far, some kilometers, some distance of kilometers away from this city. But the earthquake is more or less deep.
It's about 90-to-100-kilometer depth.
Anyhow, earthquakes like this have strike a lot cities of the same area for the -- for decades. In 1995, for example, in 1994, a couple of earthquakes
destroyed partially those cities. The name of the area is Eje Cafetero or the Coffee Region.
The area has periodically earthquake repetition, more or less 12 to 50 kilometers to 10 to 50 years is morally the cycle. In this case, we were
expecting the earthquake some years ago. We are over 20 years. The last earthquake happened at 26, 27 years ago. The last one that destroyed
partially the cities.
(CROSSTALK)
MACFARLANE: Of this magnitude.
VARGAS: Yes. Well, actually, lower with lower magnitude. I remember it's about 6.2, the last one.
MACFARLANE: OK.
VARGAS: This magnitude was very large, in fact.
MACFARLANE: All of this certainly points to just how vulnerable Central America is, clearly, to earthquakes, given what we saw in Venezuela not two
months ago.
We are seeing live pictures here to the right of our screen, as we know, you know, this -- the impact here was far-reaching,
Professor, we are going to have to leave it there for now. But thank you very much for coming on and telling us what you know.
And we will be right back with more on this after the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:56:34]
MACFARLANE: And that is it for this hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. Do stay with CNN. Our coverage on our breaking news of the earthquake in Colombia is
continuing in the next hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
