Quake-Hit Colombia Faces a Dual Crisis of Displacement and Food Insecurity

The World Food Programme is expanding emergency food assistance in Colombia after the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck on August 10, with an initial appeal for USD 23 million to support 100,000 people over three months. The response is unfolding in regions where conflict, displacement and pre-existing food insecurity had already left many households highly vulnerable, raising the risk that a short-term disaster could deepen into a longer humanitarian crisis.

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Colombia on August 10 has quickly become more than a disaster-response challenge. Even before the earthquake, close to seven million people in Colombia faced moderate or severe food insecurity, according to World Food Programme (WFP). In Chocó and Valle del Cauca, two areas affected by the broader crisis, close to one third of the population was already food insecure.

WFP is expanding emergency food assistance as thousands of people in affected areas face disrupted livelihoods, damaged homes and reduced access to essential services.

WFP has already provided food assistance to more than 2,000 people in Pereira and Quibdó in a single day and is preparing to widen operations through logistics hubs in Cali, Quibdó and Medellín. It is also seeking an initial USD 23 million to support 100,000 people over three months, signalling that the humanitarian response is moving beyond immediate relief.

The Earthquake Hit Communities That Were Already Vulnerable

The main concern is not only the scale of the earthquake, but the conditions that existed before it struck. Conflict and displacement had also weakened household resilience, meaning many families entered the disaster with limited capacity to absorb another economic shock. This changes the nature of the emergency. A household that loses income, shelter or access to markets after a disaster may recover faster if it has savings and stable employment; for families already struggling to secure sufficient food, the same disruption can have much deeper consequences.

The earthquake is thus compounding rather than creating vulnerability from scratch. What begins as a physical disaster can quickly become a prolonged food-security and livelihoods crisis when existing pressures are already severe.

Cash or Food? Market Recovery Will Shape the Response

WFP is using different forms of assistance depending on whether local markets are functioning. In remote communities where access is difficult and markets remain disrupted, direct food distributions are being prioritised to ensure households receive essential supplies.

In urban areas such as Valle del Cauca and Risaralda, where markets and basic services are beginning to recover, cash-based assistance can be expanded more quickly. This allows families to purchase the food they need while keeping money circulating through local businesses.

Humanitarian aid is most effective when it reflects how local economies are actually functioning. Cash support can offer flexibility where food is available, while direct food assistance is more practical where transport, supply chains or market access have broken down.

The challenge will be to keep adjusting that balance as conditions change. If markets recover unevenly, a model that works in one district may not be suitable in another, making local monitoring and logistics central to the success of the response.

Logistics May Decide Who Gets Help First

The next stage of the emergency will depend heavily on whether assistance can reach difficult-to-access communities. WFP is using its national network of field offices and logistics hubs while keeping four mobile storage units ready for deployment. Additional relief supplies are also available from the WFP-managed Humanitarian Response Depot in Panama. These resources give the operation greater flexibility if road access, storage capacity or local supply chains become serious constraints.

Disaster response often becomes harder once the initial phase passes. Delivering aid to urban centres is one challenge; maintaining regular support to remote communities over several weeks is another, particularly when infrastructure and transport remain disrupted.

The USD 23 million appeal reflects that shift from immediate intervention to sustained operations. The real test will be whether humanitarian support can continue at scale once the first surge of public solidarity and emergency attention begins to fade.

The Bigger Risk Is a Long Recovery With Weak Household Buffers

WFP Country Director Nils Grede has warned that recovery will not end with the first wave of assistance. Food assistance can protect households from an immediate deterioration, but it cannot by itself replace lost income, restore damaged homes or repair disrupted services. If those broader problems persist, families may remain dependent on humanitarian support for longer than initially expected.

Local businesses will also be part of the recovery equation. In places where cash assistance can be used effectively, household spending may help support commerce, but that depends on whether markets have adequate supply and whether transport links remain functional.

What happens over the next several weeks will be as important as the initial emergency response. The key indicators will be whether markets continue to recover, whether remote communities become easier to reach, whether livelihoods can restart and whether the initial three-month assistance plan is sufficient.