City of Armenia withstands a 7.4-magnitude earthquake / How 27 years of preparation after the 1999 tragedy protected the city

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake woke residents of Armenia, in western Colombia, on Monday morning. For many of them, the tremors brought back memories of the horror of the 1999 catastrophe.

Although it is just 69 kilometers from the epicenter and has around 300,000 residents, Armenia was left almost entirely undamaged this time. No buildings collapsed in the city, no major rescue operations were needed and, most importantly, there were no fatalities.

In other parts of Colombia, the toll was much heavier. The earthquake caused considerable damage, killed at least 285 people and left thousands injured. Dozens of victims were reported in Pereira and Manizales, while at least 95 people lost their lives in Cali.

In Armenia, residents responded in a more coordinated manner. Many immediately followed the procedures they had learned during emergency-preparedness drills, which are held in the city at least twice a year. Some crouched beside their beds to create a protective space in case of a collapse, while others stayed near refrigerators.

After the tremors stopped, residents expected to hear ambulance sirens, but they were almost entirely absent.

“The Miracle City,” but not thanks to a miracle

For years, Armenia has been known as “La Ciudad Milagro,” meaning “The Miracle City.” However, according to the engineers and officials involved in rebuilding the city after the devastating 1999 earthquake, the resilience it demonstrated this time had nothing to do with luck.

In 1999, Armenia was hit by a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that destroyed around 60% of the city’s buildings and caused the deaths of nearly 1,000 people.

After that tragedy, reconstruction was carried out according to much stricter standards. Over the course of 27 years, the city invested in urban planning, structural reinforcement and disaster preparedness.

Mayor James Padilla highlighted the role of drills conducted over the years, stating: “We are preparing. We have strengthened our aid and rescue systems.”

Experts believe that Armenia’s resistance to the latest earthquake was based on three essential measures.

The first step was a detailed microzoning study, which determined, block by block, how the ground responds to seismic activity.

The second measure was restricting construction in areas with loose soil, where an earthquake’s tremors can be amplified.

The third decision involved implementing stricter and updated building codes.

After the 1999 catastrophe, Colombia established a fund of around $1 billion to rebuild the coffee-producing region. The Fund for the Reconstruction of the Coffee Axis, FOREC, divided Armenia into 15 zones and brought nongovernmental organizations, urban planners, social workers, engineers and seismologists into the process.

The reconstruction approach was based on a four-word principle: “slow planning, rapid execution.”

According to experts’ warnings, Colombia’s main challenge is not the lack of earthquake-resistant building regulations, but their implementation in practice.

The risk remains high because of informal construction and buildings that do not meet technical requirements.

Omar Cardona, a civil engineer and one of Colombia’s best-known seismic-risk specialists, explains that the old buildings destroyed in 1999 are no longer part of Armenia. According to him, the city was rebuilt with the threat of earthquakes in mind.

The situation is different in other cities, where in some cases even new buildings fail to meet the required standards. In Pereira, for example, a building just one year old suffered serious damage, and it was discovered that it had been built with unsuitable materials.

Cardona says that around 70% of construction in Bogota is informal. For this reason, he has prepared an illustrated manual that teaches workers and tradespeople safer techniques for building small homes.

What Armenia teaches us

According to experts, Armenia’s experience demonstrates that the extent of earthquake damage depends not only on the earthquake’s strength, but also on the city’s level of preparedness.

A full 27 years after being heavily devastated in 1999, Armenia faced an even stronger earthquake without recording a single fatality.

Experts sum up their conclusion in these words: “Surviving an earthquake is not a matter of luck. It is a matter of engineering; it is a matter of science.”

For Armenia, what might have appeared to be a “miracle” this time was in fact the result of 27 years of planning, reconstruction, strict regulations and preparation for another seismic disaster.