BOGOTA (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake jolted northeast Colombia on Wednesday but no injuries or serious damages were reported, authorities said. The National Seismological Institute said the tremor, which occurred at 6:23 a.m. (1123 GMT), registered 5.5 on the Richter scale and was powerful enough to cause considerable damage in a populated area. The quake`s epicenter was located in the Cordillera Oriental Andean mountain chain about 31 miles (50 km) southeast of Bucaramanga, capital of northern Santander province, the Seismological Institute said. It said the tremor`s potential for destruction was limited by the fact that it occurred 93 miles (150 km) beneath the Earth`s surface.