Thousands missing in devastating Colombia earthquake as Bay Area residents scramble to help – NBC Bay Area

Rescue teams in Colombia are working to find those still trapped under debris after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the region Monday morning.

The death toll continues to rise, with more than 3,000 people reported missing by relatives.

Meanwhile, families in the Bay Area are urgently trying to help loved ones in their home country find safe shelter after dozens of homes and buildings crumbled as if they had been hit with an explosive.

Hundreds of people are dead and thousands more are left without homes following the disaster.

Liliana, a resident of Colombia, captured video seconds after the quake hit. Her daughter, Paula Favre, who lives in San Jose, received a phone call from her Monday morning.

“Yo contesté y mi mamá estaba llorando,” Favre said, recalling that she answered the phone to find her mother crying.

Favre said her mother was on the fifth floor of a building during the earthquake. The building now has cracks and is not safe to live in.

The devastation in Colombia has Dr. Kit Miyamoto, a structural engineer and California Seismic Safety Commissioner, concerned for the Golden State.

Miyamoto has been in Venezuela helping with recovery efforts following a devastating earthquake there and is now traveling to Colombia.

He will help determine if certain buildings and homes are safe to occupy. Even though his work is happening thousands of miles away, he said Californians should be paying attention to the recovery efforts.

“The depth of the earthquake in Colombia, the epicenter is almost 100 km down,” Miyamoto said.

He noted that the architectural vulnerabilities exposed in South America mirror risks at home.

“The building types you find in Colombia, Venezuela, you’ll actually find in the Bay Area, in LA, in Sacramento, everywhere,” Miyamoto said.

According to Miyamoto, anything built before 1980 in California is considered dangerous.

“It doesn’t have enough reinforcement detailing, reinforcement layout … buildings collapse because of that and we’re going to see some of the same issues in CA,” he said.

However, he noted that California has a strict inspection process by engineers at the city, county and state levels, which can make a huge difference in mitigating disaster.

As the search for the missing continues, the Bay Area community is rallying to find ways to help those affected in Colombia.

The San Jose Earthquakes announced on social media that they will be matching community donations to the American Red Cross relief efforts up to $2,500.