US Embassy Colombia Earthquake Alert: Is MDE Open?

Quick answer: Since a magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck Chocó on August 10, the US Embassy Colombia earthquake alert has been updated three times, most recently on August 12 from the Embassy in Bogotá. José María Córdova (MDE), El Dorado (Bogotá), and Cali’s Alfonso Bonilla Aragón airports are open with delays; Quibdó, Armenia, Buenaventura, and Manizales are open with limited capacity; Pereira’s Matecaña and Cartago’s Santa Ana aren’t handling commercial flights at all. Colombia’s advisory stays at Level 3, “Reconsider Travel,” with natural disasters now an explicit risk factor.

This account draws on the US Embassy’s three natural-disaster alerts — read via search-indexed copies and cross-checked against the State Department, USGS, and independent reporting from El Colombiano, Al Jazeera, and Aviation Week — plus Colombia’s official travel advisory and UNGRD’s daily casualty updates.

What happened

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit at 7:34 a.m. local time on August 10, centered about 5 km east of San José del Palmar in Chocó department, according to the US Geological Survey. The Embassy’s alerts put the epicenter roughly 150 miles from Bogotá; CNN’s mapping of the same event puts it closer to 250 miles — reporting has varied on the exact distance, but the epicenter was solidly in western Colombia, well outside Medellín. It’s the strongest earthquake to hit Colombia this century, according to Colombia’s Geological Service — not, as some early reports had it, in a century; the magnitude-8.1 Tumaco earthquake in 1979 was larger. It was felt across the west and center of the country, plus parts of Ecuador and Panama.

Colombia’s disaster agency, UNGRD, reported 273 deaths, 3,824 injuries, and 377 people still missing as of its August 13 situation update — figures that have risen daily and will likely keep moving as search efforts continue. Cali, Pereira, Quibdó, Manizales, and Armenia remain under red alert.

The three US Embassy Colombia earthquake alerts, in order

The Embassy has posted three natural-disaster alerts in three days:

1. August 10 — the initial alert confirmed the quake, urged Americans to check on their own safety and that of family, and pointed travelers to the Embassy’s 24/7 emergency line.
2. August 11 — Update 1 reported that the Embassy was tracking airport and road closures and continuing to respond to reports involving US citizens, while noting no chartered evacuation flights were planned given that commercial service remained available.
3. August 12 — Update 2 gave the clearest airport picture yet, separating airports running full service with delays from ones down to limited capacity and the two not handling commercial flights at all.

Alongside the alerts, the State Department announced an initial $15.5 million in emergency shelter, food, protection assistance, and structural assessments for the affected region.

Is Medellín’s airport open?

Yes — but it wasn’t a clean 72 hours. José María Córdova International Airport (MDE, in Rionegro, serving Medellín) was suspended for several hours on August 10, when Aerocivil ordered a precautionary evacuation of the terminal and control tower for structural checks (Hora 13 Noticias). It reopened the same day, and as of the August 12 update, it’s operating commercial flights with delays — the same status as El Dorado in Bogotá and Alfonso Bonilla Aragón in Cali. Four more airports are open but running at limited capacity: El Caraño (Quibdó), El Edén (Armenia), Gerardo Tovar López (Buenaventura), and La Nubia (Manizales). Two aren’t handling commercial flights at all: Pereira’s Matecaña, where part of the terminal ceiling collapsed (Aviation Week), and Cartago’s Santa Ana. If you’re flying to or from MDE, budget extra time and check your airline’s status directly rather than assuming a normal schedule — the Embassy’s own language is “expect delays,” not “operating normally.”

Where the travel advisory stands

This earthquake alert sits on top of, not instead of, Colombia’s standing Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory from the State Department. That rating was last revised on March 31, 2026, when officials added a natural disaster flag alongside the existing crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping risk indicators — a change we covered when it first affected the Embassy’s dating-app drugging alert for Medellín.

Nothing about this week’s earthquake alerts has changed the advisory level itself. If anything, they confirm why the natural-disaster indicator was added in March: this is the scenario it was written for.

If you’re a US citizen in Colombia right now

• Enroll in STEP at step.state.gov so the Embassy can reach you directly with updates.
• Call the 24/7 emergency line: +1-202-501-4444 from abroad, or +1-888-407-4747 from the US and Canada, per the Embassy’s initial alert.
• Check road conditions before driving, especially toward the affected west — Invías, Colombia’s national roads institute, runs a 24-hour line at 601-427-9500 (or text #767 from a Colombian number) for pass/fail status on routes with reported damage. As of August 11 it still listed 13 road corridors with transit problems, concentrated in Quindío, Caldas, Valle del Cauca, and Risaralda.
• Don’t expect a charter evacuation flight. With commercial airports open (Pereira and Cartago excluded), the Embassy has said it isn’t coordinating charters — book or rebook through your airline.

The bottom line

Medellín itself wasn’t near the epicenter, and MDE is open, delays aside. The immediate disruption is concentrated in Chocó, Risaralda, and neighboring departments, with airport delays as the most likely effect for travelers passing through the region. If you’re in Medellín or headed here, the practical moves are the unglamorous ones: enroll in STEP, keep your airline’s app handy for delay notices, and treat the advisory’s long-standing crime and safety guidance — covered in our recent look at US-Colombia security cooperation — as separate from, not solved or worsened by, this week’s natural-disaster alerts.