(Reuters) At least 111 people were killed after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia ​on Monday, toppling buildings across several cities, damaging hospitals and infrastructure and trapping people beneath the rubble in what authorities called the ‘s strongest earthquake of the century.

The quake struck just days after Abelardo De La Espriella was sworn in as president, thrusting the new administration into its first major crisis, with memories still fresh of devastating twin earthquakes in neighbouring Venezuela in June.

“The national government has all of its capabilities deployed to protect lives, assist affected communities and deliver aid wherever it is needed,” he ​said in a national address around 1 p.m. local time, upon declaring a national state of emergency.