A powerful earthquake that was felt across Colombia has killed at least 111 people in several cities and left others trapped under a “massive quantity of collapsed buildings”.

The mighty 7.4-magnitude quake was the country’s most powerful in a decade and also shook neighbouring Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.

The epicentre was in San Jose Del Palmar, population 4800, in the Choco region about 400 kilometres west of Bogota, and struck at a depth of 107 kilometres on Monday (local time).

The newly sworn-in president Abelardo de la Espriella declared a national emergency.

“The first priority is rescuing the people trapped under the rubble,” he said.

The quake left cities across the west of the country — Pereira, Quibdo, Cali and Manizales — ravaged.

Colombia’s interior minister said more than 20 municipalities had been hit.

In Pereira, verified videos showed people screaming and running as a building swayed and crumbled, and another building collapsing in the central square.

Pereira’s mayor, Mauricio Salazar, said at least 18 people had died and that many more were trapped under “a massive quantity of collapsed buildings”.

Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver in Cali, said he saw plumes of dust shoot up across the city from his home in hills of the city as buildings collapsed.

“My entire house shook. I’ve never lived through such a powerful earthquake,” he said.

“We’re thanking god we’re alive.”

The nation’s Geological Service it was “the highest magnitude earthquake registered in Colombia in the last decade”. It was followed by aftershocks of magnitude 2.8 and 4.8.

People search through the rubble of a collapsed building. Photo: AAP

Authorities also reported that flights were suspended at multiple airports.

Pop singer Shakira posted a message to her home country as images of the damage emerged.

“Beloved Colombia, my heart is with everyone who felt this earthquake today and with the families who are going through moments of anguish,” she wrote on X.

“In times like these, we Colombians know how to come together and support one another.

“All my strength and love for my homeland. Let’s embrace tightly and stay tuned to the instructions so we can help as soon as possible.”

The earthquakes left many in the Andean nation unnerved after two back-to-back quakes devastated neighbouring Venezuela in late June, destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed more than 5000 people.

In nearby Manizales, a city in the coffee-producing mountains of Colombia, one of the towers of the neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed and fell on the nave.

Local mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas said two people had died in the city “because of the quake”. He asked residents to stay outside in case of aftershocks.

Authorities in the rural state of Choco, the epicentre of the quake, reported injured people and damaged buildings in the capital, but provided few details.

A vehicle is crushed by debris in Cali, Colombia. Photo: AAP

In Cali, a city of two million people, Mayor Alejandro Eder said residents were trapped in at least 19 buildings that had collapsed.

Small earthquakes, known as “temblores”, are common in central and western Colombia, but those above 6.0 magnitude are rare.

In 1999, a 6.2 magnitude quake near the city of Armenia killed more than 1100 people.

-with AAP/Reuters