Trump Administration Announces Additional Support Following Colombia Earthquake

The Trump Administration is leading a life-saving response to the devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck Colombia on August 10.  Today, the Department of State is announcing $11 million in additional humanitarian assistance, bringing the total U.S. assistance following the earthquake to $26.5 million.  The Department is also leveraging support from the U.S. Department of War (DoW) U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) to transport relief supplies from the Department of State’s Miami prepositioning warehouse to Colombia.  The State Department continues to coordinate with Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella and the Colombian government to assess and respond to earthquake-related needs.

Additional Life-Saving Humanitarian Assistance

The Department of State is mobilizing a total of $26.5 million – including today’s announcement of an additional $11 million – in humanitarian food, health, protection and shelter assistance, in addition to post-earthquake structural assessments through trusted partners, including Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Miyamoto International, UNICEF, the UN World Food Program (WFP), and World Vision.  Of the initial $15.5 million in assistance announced on August 11, $3 million provided through CRS draws from the previously announced CRS global assistance award.  Additionally, as part of the Department’s $3.8 billion contribution to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced earlier this year, the United States provided $200 million to the Colombia Pooled Fund, which OCHA can use to address earthquake-related needs as well as preexisting humanitarian needs in Colombia.

Leveraging DoW Support to Deliver Relief Supplies

The Department of State is also leveraging support from SOUTHCOM to transport relief supplies from the Department’s Miami prepositioning warehouse to Colombia.  The first of the planned flights is scheduled to depart Homestead Air Force Base in Florida’s Miami-Dade County today, carrying shelter and water and hygiene supplies.  Upon arrival in Colombia, IOM and WFP will receive the supplies and oversee last-mile distribution to Colombians impacted by the earthquake.  Today’s flight will include hundreds of Starlink kits that will provide reliable, high-speed internet to many humanitarian organizations and the Colombian government to facilitate their relief efforts.  The delivery of these kits will occur in coordination with the State Department, following the disaster response coordination memorandum of understanding signed between Starlink and the Department earlier this summer.

Arrival of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Technical Support Teams

In coordination with the Colombian government, the Department of State activated and deployed two USAR technical support teams from the fire departments of Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles County, California.  These teams arrived in Colombia on August 12 and are providing USAR coordination, communications, and structural engineering support to Colombian government-led search and rescue operations.

Supporting Americans in Colombia

The Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans.  The State Department is working tirelessly to provide consular assistance to U.S. citizens and their families in the affected areas.  Americans in Colombia should enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at STEP.state.gov to receive safety and security updates from the U.S. Embassy.  They should follow @TravelGov and @USEmbassyBogota on social media for the latest information.  The Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs maintains a call center for Americans seeking information or assistance in connection with the Colombia earthquake: call 888-407-4747 from within the United States or Canada, or +1 202-501-4444 from all other locations.