national

Preventing future floods

In the aftermath of the recent floods in Bocas del Toro and Chiriquí, Panama’s Universidad Tecnológica claimed to have had a natural disaster risk map of the Chiriquí Viejo and La Villa riverbasins (in Chiriquí and Los Santos, respectively) since 2002, but doubted that current officials at the the country’s civil protection agency, SINAPROC, were aware of their existence.

Leonidas Rivera, professor of civil engineering at the university, said that the “flood and landslide risk maps were handed over to SINAPROC in 2002, and as part of an early warning plan, 40 residents living in close proximity to the Chico River [Chiriquí] and the Palomo River had been trained in preparedness measures. Now, SINAPROC doesn’t even know they exist,” he said.

Rivera added that the study, which was funded with $60,000 from the World Bank and other banking institutions, advised on the installation of early warning devices in the these rivers, but sadly, all of that was lost.

Carlos Cruz, of SINAPROC responded that “the 2002 study was useful during that time, but is now outdated, and must be adapted to reflect the changing climate.”

The comments came yesterday following a meeting between the university and government entities charged with creating a disaster risk map. In a collaborative effort, they announced a new initiative to expand civil protection and disaster prevention.

Luz de Calzadilla, from the hydrometeorology department of a local electrical transmission company, said that what happened in Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro was an extraordinary phenomenon. “Six months worth of rain fell in a mere four days; no river would have been able to sustain this,” she added.