Boquete and other parts of Panama hit by floods

Flooding in Boquete

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1iRHF2VQQE

The recent flooding has affected several parts of Panama, but is most dramatic in the Chiriqui highlands.

If you are in Panama City and want to help the many people who have been displaced by the flooding in Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro and Colon provinces, take your donations of non-perishable food, mattresses, blankets and cleaning supplies to the disaster relief collection center in Parque Omar on Via Porras.

In Chiriqui province, contact the Boquete Lions Club via Antonio Singh at cell phone number 6-618-2929 to coordinate your donations.

The American Embassy and other foreign diplomatic delegations have also been pitching in to help out in this disaster relief effort.

This is the height of rainy season in Panama, and in many places around the country the soil is waterlogged and heavy rains can quickly raise flood waters. In the Panama City - Colon - San Miguelito area there are also flood risks that are in some places aggravated when heavy rains coincide with high Pacific tides, in many places where storm drains are clogged with trash and in other places as the result of inappropriate development obstructing drains or increasing runoff.

It would seem that warnings wouldn't be necessary, but then there are people new to Panama who may not have heard the old advice. Stay away from rain-swollen ditches and creeks, and in particular keep all kids in your charge away from them --- they can overflow in an instant and a person who is swept away in one of these rarely survives. A few inches or more of flood waters rushing down the street is an elemental force that's probably stronger than you are and it may be the last surprise of your life if you try to wade across such a torrent and get swept into a storm drain whose grate has been stolen by scrap metal thieves. Be careful about the flooded roads that you try to ford in your vehicle, and know that there are parts of the city where gangs of robbers will attack people in cars stuck in flood waters. Better to seek shelter on higher ground and wait for the rains to stop and the waters to recede than to rush into a tragedy.

Also in this section:
Boquete and other parts of Panama hit by floods
Ants in the garden
Mars glaciers
Domestic violence as a public health issue
STRI's strategic plan

Make the Executive Hotel your headquarters in Panama City --- http://ww.executivehotel-panama.com
Find the boat of your dreams through Evermarine --- http://www.evermarine.com