Support Colombia
7:34 a.m. · 10 August 2026 · San José del Palmar, Chocó

The ground moved. Here is where to send help.

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia — the strongest the country has recorded in a decade. This page is a short, checked list of organizations confirmed to be responding. Nothing here is sponsored.

Start here

Not all help helps equally

After a disaster, generosity often arrives in the least useful shape. This is the honest order, best to worst.

Best

Money to an organization already on the ground

Cash is the only donation that converts instantly into whatever is actually scarce this hour — which changes hourly. It costs nothing to ship, clears customs immediately, and buys from Colombian suppliers, which keeps local businesses running while they rebuild.

Best

Blood, if you are in Colombia

Blood cannot be shipped in from abroad in time and cannot be bought. The Colombian Red Cross has issued an urgent call and opened donation points in seven cities. If you are here and eligible, this is the most valuable hour you can give.

Useful

Requested goods, dropped at an official collection point

Only if you are in Colombia, and only the specific items a collection point has asked for. Check expiry dates. Unrequested goods have to be sorted, stored, and disposed of by the same people who should be running rescue operations.

Careful

Anything asking you to transfer money to a personal account

Disasters attract fraud within hours. Colombian authorities are asking people to verify before transferring and to use only official channels. If a fundraiser reached you through a message or a comment, treat it as unverified until you can check it independently.

If you are in Colombia, give blood

The Colombian Red Cross has made an urgent appeal for blood donations to support hospitals treating the injured, and Antioquia has declared a red hospital alert. Donation points are open in these cities:

  • Bogotá
  • Medellín
  • Cali
  • Manizales
  • Armenia
  • Cartagena
  • Villavicencio

Call the point before you go. The Red Cross is asking donors to confirm hours and current conditions first — turning up unannounced can mean a wasted trip during the hours staff are busiest.

Cruz Roja Colombiana
Method

How this list was made

An organization appears here only if it publicly confirmed a response to this earthquake, on its own website, and only with a link to its own donation page. No organization paid to be listed and none can. If you know of a Colombian organization doing this work that is missing, tell us and we will check it.

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