In the aftermath of a powerful earthquake that struck Colombia on 10 January, residents of Pereira (one of the country's hardest-hit cities, located in the coffee-growing Andean region) have been picking through collapsed buildings to salvage scrap metal — aluminium and copper wire — to sell for recycling. With at least 294 people killed and nearly 4,000 injured nationwide, and 94 deaths recorded in Pereira alone, many survivors have lost their homes and livelihoods and turned to scavenging as emergency income. One man walked nearly six kilometres carrying five kilograms of metal, only to receive 2,000 Colombian pesos — roughly three Brazilian reais, or under one US dollar — underscoring how quickly vulnerability deepens in the wake of large-scale disaster.