Colombia · Expats

The good news travels faster than the bad: the grid is almost whole again. While engineers walk the water network pipe by pipe before they will promise a single safe tap.

Illustrative photo: high-voltage transmission lines. After Colombia’s earthquake of Monday, 10 August 2026, the national grid operator reported about 99% of electricity demand restored, while water and sewerage service still had no timetable. (Photo: PumpkinSky, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.)

If you are riding out the aftermath of Colombia’s earthquake at home, here is the plain truth on your power and water. The lights are coming back fast, while the taps are the part nobody can put a firm date on yet.

Power and Water Are on Two Different Clocks

It helps to picture your two most basic services as running on separate timers. One is almost finished; the other has barely started ticking.

Electricity came back quickly because crews can see the damage. A snapped line or a tripped substation is out in the open, and it gets fixed above ground.

Water hides underground. The pipes that feed your home run beneath streets and gardens, so nobody knows their state until they are checked.

The Lights Are Almost All Back On

At the worst moment the quake knocked out about 18% of the country’s entire electricity demand. That share has shrunk day by day since.

In Valle del Cauca the slice of demand still without power fell from around 70% to about 11%. In Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda it dropped from roughly 82% to about 14%.

The national grid operator, XM, says the system as a whole is back to about 99% of its normal demand. If your street is still dark, you are now in a shrinking minority.

What ‘Days From Normal’ Means for You

Andesco, the body that speaks for Colombia’s utility companies, says full electricity service is only days away. Crews are still working through the last damaged equipment.

The repairs follow a priority order. Hospitals, clinics and other critical sites are reconnected first, then neighbourhoods in turn.

So if your power flickers or drops for short spells, that is the system settling rather than failing. Expect it to steady over the coming days.

Why Water Is the Slow One

Water and sewerage are a different job entirely. There is no published date for full service, and the reason is physical, not bureaucratic.

An earthquake can crack a buried pipe without leaving a mark on the surface. A broken sewer line can also let dirty water seep into the clean supply.

So engineers have to inspect the network segment by segment. Only once a stretch of pipe is checked can they promise the water inside it is safe.

One Piece of Reassurance

There is a bright spot worth holding on to. Officials have not reported any loss of the water sources themselves, the reservoirs and rivers that feed the system.

In plain terms, the water is there. The problem is the plumbing between the source and your tap, not a shortage of water to begin with.

That makes this a repair problem, not a drought. It is slow and careful work, but it is exactly the kind of thing crews know how to fix.

Store Water Now, While You Can

While the timetable is uncertain, the smart move is simple: keep water on hand. If your taps still run, fill clean containers today.

Aim for a few days’ worth for drinking and cooking, and set aside extra for washing and flushing. Bottles, jugs, pots and a clean bathtub all work.

If your supply is already cut, ask your building or neighbours before it turns into a scramble. Sharing early is easier than queuing later.

If the Water Looks or Tastes Off

After a quake, tap water can pick up grit or worse from damaged pipes. Trust your senses first.

If the water runs cloudy, coloured or strange-smelling, do not drink it. Use bottled water until your utility says the supply is clean.

If in doubt, bringing water to a rolling boil for a minute makes it safer to drink. Watch for any boil-water notice from your local utility and follow it.

Which Areas Are Hardest Hit

The heaviest utility damage sits in Colombia’s coffee region and in Valle del Cauca. These are the places where recovery is being watched most closely.

That means the cities of Armenia in Quindío, Pereira in Risaralda and Manizales in Caldas. Cali, the big city of the Valle, was also shaken hard.

The epicentre lay off the Pacific coast in Chocó, near Quibdó. Damage there is severe, and it sits outside the coffee-belt figures above.

A Few Simple Steps for the Next Few Days

Keep a phone and a power bank charged whenever the electricity is on. Short outages can still come as the grid settles.

Store drinking water now, and label anything you are unsure is safe. A marker on a bottle saves confusion later.

Save the number and social page of your local water and power company. That is where real restoration news will appear first.

What to Expect From Here

The direction is clearly good, and it improves by the day. Power is nearly whole, and the water network is being worked through pipe by pipe.

Treat every figure here as a snapshot from Thursday, 13 August 2026. By the time you read this, the power numbers are likely better still.

For your own street, your utility is the only true source. Check its updates before you assume the water is back and safe.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will my power be back?

For most homes it should be back within days. Andesco says full electricity service is only days away.

Is my water safe to drink, and when will it return?

There is no firm date for water yet, and that is the honest answer. Until your utility confirms the supply is clean, use bottled or boiled water, especially if it looks or smells wrong.

Why is water taking so much longer than power?

Power lines are visible and fixed above ground, so the damage is easy to find. Water and sewer pipes are buried and must be checked segment by segment before anyone can call a tap safe.

What should I do while I wait?

Store clean water now while your taps still run, and keep phones and a power bank charged for short outages. Follow your local water and power company for the only reliable restoration news.

Sources: Andesco; XM (national grid operator); Colombia Ministry of Mines and Energy; El Colombiano; Semana; Reuters.