Updated August 12, 2026 at 9:48 p.m. Colombia time
President Abelardo de la Espriella announced a new national toll at around 5:30 p.m. on August 12: 265 dead, 496 missing, 3,494 injured and 25,872 affected families. Without a published cutoff time or methodology accompanying these figures, they do not silently replace the earlier assessment cut off at 7:30 a.m.
A preliminary toll across 14 departments
The consolidation covers Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, Chocó, Caldas, Antioquia, Bolívar, Putumayo, Cundinamarca, Norte de Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Huila, Quindío and Cauca. It records 24,324 families, or 49,214 affected people.
The figures are preliminary and may change as searches, victim identification and assessments of isolated areas continue.
Homes and buildings affected
The new tally counts 9,215 destroyed homes and 45,457 damaged homes. It also lists 140 collapsed buildings without establishing whether that category overlaps with housing.
These categories describe nationally recorded damage; they do not by themselves establish how many people were displaced or rehoused.
Schools and health facilities
The toll lists 1,667 schools and 530 health facilities as affected. “Affected” does not necessarily mean destroyed or closed.
Local assessments are still needed to distinguish minor damage, evacuation, closure and loss of service capacity.
A change that cannot be calculated mechanically
UNGRD Situation Report No. 014, cut off at 7:20 p.m. on August 11, counted 181 deaths, 2,774 injured people and 320 rescued people. It gave no new missing-person total. The earlier figure of 195 missing people came from a presidential briefing with a different scope.
Without a methodology note accompanying the new consolidation, differences between successive cutoffs do not show how many cases were added, reclassified or verified.
What remains to be clarified
A full breakdown by department and municipality has not yet been published with these totals. Authorities also need to clarify the definitions of affected families and people and the operational status of schools and health facilities.
The timeline places this development at 11:00 a.m., based on the first original publication found at 11:02:39 a.m. The 7:30 a.m. data cutoff remains visible without being presented as the publication time.
A new presidential toll at 5:30 p.m.
During his news conference held around 5:30 p.m., the president announced 265 deaths, 496 missing people, 3,494 injured people and 25,872 affected families. The reviewed publication gave no data cutoff or methodology document alongside those figures.
The earlier national toll, cut off at 7:30 a.m., remains documented: 239 deaths, 3,755 injured people, 287 missing people, 49,214 affected people and 24,324 affected families. The apparent fall in the injured count and the change in affected families cannot be interpreted without an explanation of verification, reclassification and scope.
Documentary video
Nuevo balance de terremoto en Colombia: UNGRD reporta 239 muertes y 3.755 heridos
Noticias Caracol presents the national toll and says UNGRD’s assessment was cut off at 7:30 a.m. on August 12. The video does not replace future official releases.
Update history
Updated August 12, 2026 at 9:48 p.m. Colombia time
Adds the presidential toll announced around 5:30 p.m.: 265 dead, 496 missing, 3,494 injured and 25,872 affected families. The 7:30 a.m. cutoff is retained; without a cutoff or methodology the figures cannot be compared mechanically.