NEW YORK (VINnews) — A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday evening, killing more than 130 people and injuring hundreds of others, according to initial reports. Rescue teams and volunteers worked throughout the night in a race against time to locate survivors trapped beneath the rubble.

The Jewish community in Cali, Colombia, is the second-largest in the country after Bogotá. Estimates place Cali’s active Jewish population at roughly several hundred to a couple of thousand members.

Meir Partush, a resident of Cali who runs the city’s Jewish House, told Behadrei Haredim that the Jewish community felt the earthquake intensely at around 7 a.m. local time, causing extensive damage throughout the city.

“Families in our community, G-d forbid, lost their homes,” Partush said. “Thank G-d, there are no physical or emotional injuries, but there is enormous property damage. The community itself was also affected. A wall collapsed onto the roof of our synagogue, causing damage, and ceilings collapsed in some of the rooms.”

Partush explained that the Jewish House serves as a central address for Jews visiting or living in Cali. The organization operates a synagogue, provides kosher food and assists Israelis and Jews who find themselves in need, including accompanying people to hospitals or police stations when necessary.

“It’s similar in concept to Chabad’s activities, but we established the Jewish House because there is no Chabad center here,” he said. “We operate the place through donations. We also have a local Jewish community with three daily prayer services, Torah classes and educational activities for children.”

Following the earthquake, the Jewish House also opened its doors to non-Jews seeking assistance.

“What’s happening right now is that non-Jews are also coming to us and asking for help with food, water, or assistance with repairs,” Partush said. “We help anyone who turns to us, including non-Jews who are coming and asking for assistance. This is also a Kiddush Hashem.”

Throughout the night, the Jewish House team assisted numerous members of the Jewish community, including people who had been left homeless.

“It’s simply not easy,” Partush said. “Homes have collapsed and there is enormous damage. The people here are not wealthy. This is not a rich or well-established community, so everything depends on donations and assistance from people outside who come to help.”

Despite the devastation, Partush said the community was doing everything possible to care for those affected and expressed hope for better days ahead.

“We pray and hope that the Almighty will send us the redemption soon, and with G-d’s help, everything will be restored to normal.”

As the rescue and recovery efforts continued, Partush’s first priority was checking on Israelis and Jewish visitors staying in the city.

“One of the first things I did in the morning was call the hostels where Israelis and travelers stay and ask how they were doing, to make sure everything was okay,” he said. “I also called Israelis themselves to make sure that no one had been injured.”

At this stage, Partush said, the Jewish House had received no reports of Jewish residents or visitors being physically or emotionally injured.

“For now, we have no information about any Jew who was physically or emotionally injured, G-d forbid,” he said. “There is enormous property damage across the city, and at the moment, that’s what we’re dealing with.”