M5.0 earthquake near Piedecuesta, Santander Department

What happened

A magnitude 5 earthquake struck 10 km NW of Cepitá, Colombia on 9 Mar 2016, 06:27 UTC at a depth of 149 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was an intermediate-depth earthquake, so shaking is spread over a wider, gentler area.

The nearest town in our records is Piedecuesta, about 18 km away in Santander Department, Colombia.