The death toll from Colombia's August 10 earthquake has climbed to 319, with 260 people still missing and more than 4,500 injured, the national disaster agency UNGRD said, after earlier reports placed fatalities at 281. President Abelardo de la Espriella estimated direct losses at 30 trillion pesos, roughly $7.5 billion, while reconstruction costs are provisionally pegged at around 40 billion pesos in a separate official estimate.
Some communities remain entirely cut off ten days after the magnitude 7.4 tremor, the International Organization for Migration warned, launching a $30 million appeal to sustain the government's relief response over six months. The United Nations estimates 1.2 million people now require humanitarian assistance.
The quake also damaged cemeteries holding remains of conflict victims, threatening efforts to account for nearly 132,000 disappeared people. The Unit for the Search for Persons Deemed Missing launched damage assessments on the day of the tremor, as two skeletons and bags of military clothing were unearthed at a cemetery in Roldanillo.