Chicago resident Silvana Botero was visiting family in Medellin when the earthquake hit western Colombia on Monday (August 10), one of the longest-lasting quakes she has ever experienced, she said.

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake tore through Colombia's coffee-growing heartland early on Monday, killing at least 224 people.

The impact was less severe in the city of Medellin, where Botero and her son Juan Pablo were woken up by the trembling ground. However, it took several minutes for the ground to stop shaking, she said.

“I have felt earthquakes here before, but this one felt the longest,” Botero said in an interview.

“I had time to do a lot of things in between, and I went outside, I took my grandma… Some people were saying that it was like almost three minutes. I'm not sure if you can confirm that somewhere, but it felt forever,” she added.

The quake reduced multi-story buildings to rubble in cities such as Pereira and Cali, and cracked apart one of the towers of a historic cathedral in the city of Manizales.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

'This earthquake felt forever,' says Chicago resident visiting family in Medellin

VIDEO SHOWS: SOUNDBITES FROM CHICAGO RESIDENT VISITING FAMILY IN MEDELLIN SPEAKING ABOUT EARTHQUAKE / BUILDING COLLAPSING AND PEOPLE RUNNING AWAY / RESCUE TEAMS AND VOLUNTEERS AT SITE OF COLLAPSED BUILDING / PEOPLE REMOVING RUBBLE WITH PICKS AND SHOVELS

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: PEREIRA, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 10, 2026) (ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT) (SOCIAL MEDIA - No resales / No archive / News use only)

1. BUILDING COLLAPSING AND PEOPLE RUNNING AWAY

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 10, 2026) (ABC AFFILIATE WLS - No use USA / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy WLS)

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHICAGO RESIDENT VISITING FAMILY IN MEDELLIN, SILVANA BOTERO, SAYING:

“So I was still in bed and, you know, like, maybe was like three minutes before I heard, like, that's when I woke up. And then you just don’t like, I just hear, like, some shaking. And I'm like, I hear my mom screaming like, ‘Oh, it's an earthquake!’. So the first thing that I do is, I mean, I don't know if I told Juan Pablo, cause Juan Pablo was still asleep. And at this point, I don't know if Juan Pablo woke up because of the earthquake or like it was the motion at home, but it happened, like, so quick.”

3. WHITE FLASH

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BOTERO’S SON, JUAN PABLO LOPEZ, SAYING:

“Honestly, I thought it was a dream. I was like, like, I was just sleeping. Then my grandma was screaming and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I got to get up’.”

PEREIRA, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 10, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

5. RESCUE TEAMS AND VOLUNTEERS AT SITE OF COLLAPSED BUILDING

6. PEOPLE AT SITE OF COLLAPSED HOME / PEOPLE GATHERED AT DISASTER AREA / COLLAPSED HOMES AND DEBRIS

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 10, 2026) (ABC AFFILIATE WLS - No use USA / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy WLS)

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHICAGO RESIDENT VISITING FAMILY IN MEDELLIN, SILVANA BOTERO, SAYING:

“My grandmother's 99 years old. So the first thing that I did was like, go grab her. Because at that point you don't realize, like, what's going on. And for me, it was just like, I kept looking… because my view from the window that we have in our dining room, like you can see all the city of Medellin, like, all the buildings. So while I was trying to get my grandma to a safe place, like, meaning like outside, because all the neighbors, everybody's trying to go outside. So the only thing that I did was like grabbing my grandma, looking at the buildings and all I kept thinking, like, ‘Am I going to see buildings falling?’ Like, what's going on?”

CALI, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 10, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

8. VARIOUS OF COLLAPSED HOUSE

9. VOLUNTEERS WORKING

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 10, 2026) (ABC AFFILIATE WLS - No use USA / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy WLS)

10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHICAGO RESIDENT VISITING FAMILY IN MEDELLIN, SILVANA BOTERO, SAYING:

“Here (people are more just shaken up). There is some structures, like I have family that have some, like in the houses, like it's crack, but over here it's not as severe as it happened (elsewhere in Colombia). But what I can tell you that I have felt earthquakes here before, but this one felt the longest. Like I don't know exactly how long, but, like, I have time to do a lot of things, like in between, and I went outside, I took my grandma. Unless I did it really quick, which I don't think so, because my grandma doesn't really walk that fast. But I think like some people were saying that it was like almost three minutes. So I'm not sure if you can confirm that somewhere, but it felt forever.”

CALI, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 10, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

11. VARIOUS OF HOUSE DESTROYED DURING EARTHQUAKE

12. INTERIOR OF DESTROYED HOUSE

13. DESTROYED BUILDINGS

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 10, 2026) (ABC AFFILIATE WLS - No use USA / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy WLS)

14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHICAGO RESIDENT VISITING FAMILY IN MEDELLIN, SILVANA BOTERO, SAYING:

“I do have a sister that lives in Choco, where was the center, and we have heard that she's okay. But like, the messages are not going through.”

15. WHITE FLASH

16. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHICAGO RESIDENT VISITING FAMILY IN MEDELLIN, SILVANA BOTERO, SAYING:

“There's some areas, like that one that I tell you, Choco, which is where the center happened, there… I think there's only like one, cell phone service working. Other than that, they (cannot communicate). Like, I sent her a message earlier, and, you know, through WhatsApp that you can see, like it hasn't even been delivered. But we heard, I mean, we’re hoping that she's okay because we heard through another person that she's okay.”

CALI, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 10, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

17. MAN WALKING THROUGH RUBBLE OF DESTROYED HOUSES

18. PHOTOS ON ONE OF WALLS OF DESTROYED HOUSE

19. COLLAPSED HOUSES

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 10, 2026) (ABC AFFILIATE WLS - No use USA / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy WLS)

20. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHICAGO RESIDENT VISITING FAMILY IN MEDELLIN, SILVANA BOTERO, SAYING:

“I'm still scared because, you know, you don't know what's going to happen. And all I keep thinking is like, ‘Okay, if this happens again, what will be like our plan?’ Because if something happens, like there's not much that you can do, like you feel, you feel hopeless.”

CALI, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 10, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

21. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE REMOVING RUBBLE WITH PICKS AND SHOVELS

22. EXPOSED ROOMS IN COLLAPSED BUILDING