India, Aug. 11 -- By Ryan Hoult for The Conversation Locals and officials in Colombia have begun a massive search and rescue effort to find survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck near San Jose del Palmar in Choco, with major damage observed in the cities of Cali, Manizales and Pereira.

At least 132 people have already been confirmed dead, with that number expected to rise significantly in the coming hours and days. Thousands of homes have also reportedly collapsed or been damaged.

The United States Geological Survey said the magnitude 7.4 earthquake occurred primarily due to strike-slip faulting at a depth of approximately 110 kilometres. In simple terms, a strike-slip earthquake occurs when two blocks of Earth's crust slide hor...