Former President Petro asked for help in finding Catalina Ortiz, a young woman who disappeared after the earthquake in Cali: “Let’s look for her.”

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Colombia on the morning of Monday, August 10, 2026, with its epicenter located in San José del Palmar, Chocó. As of Saturday, August 15, the disaster has resulted in 294 confirmed deaths and has impacted 54,000 families across the region. The municipality of El Cairo has sustained widespread structural damage, with nearly every street reporting destroyed housing.

Search and rescue efforts remain ongoing, particularly in Cali, one of the cities most severely affected by the seismic event. Amid these operations, former President Gustavo Petro has publicly requested assistance in locating a missing young woman named Catalina Ortíz. In response to the crisis, local sports rivals América and Deportivo Cali have suspended their competitive tension to launch a joint donation campaign to support the victims.