Panama has been on the receiving end of a deluge for the past five days or so from the rain bands of hurricane Eta that made landfall as a category 4 storm in Nicaragua at the beginning of this week. Parts of western Panama (where I live) received 10+ inches of rain per day for several days. The storm has moved back into the Caribbean now, and our rain has diminished greatly starting today, but the damage is severe and extensive, including flooding, landslides and washed-out roads.
This western region of Panama is the area where most of the fruits and vegetables for the entire country are grown. Many of the crops have been either washed away or ruined from flooding, so there will most likely be shortages and price increases in the near future.
People in the severely affected areas, many of whom had little to begin with, are now homeless and have nothing. Relief efforts are being organized to provide food, clothing, diapers, and other items.
From what I can learn from others who live in Boquete, we seem to have escaped the bulk of the severe damage which has occurred mainly between here and the Costa Rica border. There are mudslides and road blockages in the area, but I haven’t heard of any major flooding in Boquete proper.
Following are some before-and-after photos to give you some idea of the scale of this event.
The Caldera River, which runs through Boquete. The top photo is how it normally looks. The bottom photo was taken a day or two ago from almost the same location. The river is still within its banks, but is much higher than normal.
A waterfall in one of the area’s many canyons. Usually a modest amount of water flows from it, but this same waterfall has become a raging torrent in these heavy rains.
This is the main (and perhaps only) road leading to Bocas del Toro, on Panama’s Caribbean coast. The road has been completely washed out from the high waters of the river below. This is the road that trucks use to deliver food and supplies to the area, so other arrangements by air or sea will need to be made soon.
Oh my gosh! We thought power outages and lots of wires and trees down for 12 days and food loss was bad. Clean up still going on over entire city. Your loss seems greater! This is something else!!!
Here I thought we had it bad. It’s nothing compared to what you are looking at.Will be thinking of you.