Buenaventura's Hospital Was Crippled by Unpaid-Wage Strike When Colombia's Quake Hit

When a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on 10 August, Buenaventura's district hospital was already hobbled: staff had struck over unpaid wages. Several wards then went out of operation. The city absorbed 330 injured residents with its primary medical facility compromised — and 540 homes collapsed. The death toll stands at 132.