Phones, electricity and roads: when vital networks falter

Why phones stop working

Simultaneous calls can overload a network even when antennas remain intact. Congestion combines with power cuts and physical damage. Backup batteries last only a few hours if power is not restored.

The electricity grid protects itself

Automatic systems isolate equipment to prevent fires and cascading failures. Crews must inspect lines, transformers and substations before reconnecting power, prioritising hospitals, water systems and emergency services.

Airports and roads under inspection

Flight suspensions and checks of bridges or slopes slow logistics but protect travellers and response teams. Treat a route as available only after official confirmation.

National recovery does not mean complete local restoration

In an article published at 6:15 a.m. on August 11, Semana attributed to XM an initial drop of about 18% in electricity demand across eleven departments, followed by recovery to 99% of pre-earthquake demand.

The percentage describes the National Interconnected System. In the same update, Dispac still reported a total outage in Quibdó and sixteen other municipalities in its service area, with inspections and a contingency plan underway and no confirmed deadline for full restoration.

Different conditions reported by different operators

Enel Colombia described infrastructure in Bogotá and Cundinamarca as stable, with isolated interruptions being addressed and inspections continuing. EPM reported no major damage to its generation, water, sanitation, gas and power transmission assets; EDEQ and CHEC reported no major operational anomalies at their Coffee Region plants.

These operator statements cannot be generalised to service conditions in every municipality.

Water and communications: Quibdó, Cali and the national report

RFI/AFP, published at 10:49 a.m. and updated at 11:20 a.m., reported that Quibdó had neither electricity nor communications and insufficient access to water, according to Doctors of the World. In Cali, EMCALI had activated preventive protocols at its plants, with no confirmed widespread water shutdown; a supply point was distributing water and other essentials.

At 11:55:33 a.m., the toll presented by the president added sixteen affected aqueducts nationwide, without identifying their locations or the degree of interruption.

The August 10 telecom report is placed back at 3:00 p.m.

A report with an August 10, 3:00 p.m. cutoff counted 3,403 unavailable mobile base stations out of 7,379 across seven departments, or 46.1%. Risaralda had 486 unavailable stations out of 631, Valle del Cauca 2,014 out of 3,486 and Quindío 177 out of 400.

Published by El Tiempo at 7:19 a.m. on August 11, the report is being added retrospectively at its actual cutoff time. It does not describe the current network and cannot show whether each station remains down or has been restored.

Three separate stages in electricity recovery

XM initially estimated affected demand at 70% in Valle del Cauca, 82% across Caldas-Quindío-Risaralda, 44% across Cauca-Nariño and 100% in Chocó. By 7:30 p.m. on August 10, the estimates had fallen respectively to 27%, 30%, 5% and around 60%.

By 8:00 a.m. on August 11, XM still estimated affected demand at 18.5% in Valle del Cauca, 20% across Caldas-Quindío-Risaralda, 5% across Cauca-Nariño and around 20% in Chocó. These successive figures compare affected demand with a normal baseline; they are not a fixed share of subscribers and do not prove complete local restoration.

Emergency packages as stabilization work continues

At 12:20 p.m., La FM reported that Claro and WOM were automatically giving prepaid users in affected areas of Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, Quindío and Caldas a seven-day package with 2 GB of data and unlimited calls and text messages. Noticias RCN attributed the same terms to a Claro statement.

At 1:41:20 p.m., DPL News reported that MinTIC was monitoring networks, Claro was balancing traffic and stabilizing services, and Tigo kept priority crews at work amid power cuts and damage to its own infrastructure. No updated full-restoration rate was provided.

UN News continues to list safe water and hygiene kits among urgent needs and says damage to water systems is disrupting some health facilities. No newer water-operator confirmation established complete restoration in a municipality.

Optical fibre: two localised interventions in Cali

At 2:25:40 p.m., EMCALI said it was collecting 100 metres of affected optical fibre in Los Cámbulos and adjusting cable height on carreras 41 and 42, between Roosevelt Avenue and calle 6A.

The post provides neither an affected-subscriber count nor an outage or restoration rate. These localised interventions therefore do not describe the overall state of telecommunications in Cali.

Tadó’s aqueduct is under assessment

At 11:04 a.m., UNGRD said a technical team was supporting assessments in Brubatá and El Tapón, in the municipality of Tadó. The municipal aqueduct has damage described as significant and must be inspected to determine recovery actions. More than 1,300 people are reported affected in the municipality, but the post does not say how many lack water, how long any interruption has lasted or when service may recover.

Lighting restored in part of Mariano Ramos

At 8:10 p.m., EMCALI said it restored public lighting at Calle 38A and Carrera 46A in Mariano Ramos after an outage since the earthquake. This local restoration is not a citywide or national electricity update.

Cali repairs a 16-inch pipe near Parque del Perro

At 1:58 p.m., EMCALI confirms work on a 16-inch pipe cracked by the earthquake at Calle 3 and Carrera 34. A hydraulic operation requires a temporary water suspension during the intervention.

The utility announces a progressive return of service during the afternoon while work continues and the pipe is replaced with high-density polyethylene. No subscriber count, detailed service area or confirmation of actual restoration has yet been published.

Power restored in the Centenario sector

At 4:20 p.m., EMCALI confirms power restoration in Cali’s Centenario sector after replacing line fuses.

The message gives no subscriber count, outage duration or status for the rest of the city. This local confirmation does not establish a general restoration.