Civil Protection authorities in Panama report that two people have died after heavy rain triggered a landslide in Colón Province. Meanwhile flooding continues to affect communities in Los Santos and Herrera Provinces where dozens of homes have been damaged.

Landslide in Cativá, Colón District, Colón Province, Panama, November 2022. Photo: Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil, Panama

Heavy rain since the start of November has caused flooding and landslides in several provinces of the country. The rain is expected to continue until at least the end of the month.

The National Civil Protection System (SINAPROC) said search and rescue personnel recovered two lifeless bodies of a father and son who were trapped in a house buried by a landslide in Cativá, Colón District, Colón Province on 21 November 2022.

The previous day a landslide was reported in Las Cumbres, Panamá District, Panamá Province. The wall of a building collapsed but no injuries were reported.

On 18 November the La Villa, Tonosí and El Cacao rivers all broke their banks after heavy rain, flooding areas in the provinces of Herrera and Los Santos. Roads were inundated and around 100 homes damaged. Twenty-five families were evacuated and around 50 homes damaged in areas of Chitré, capital of Herrera province due to the overflowing La Villa river. In Los Santos Province, 46 families were evacuated from several districts including Tonosí, where the Tonosí overflowed.

Flooding affected the provinces of Herrera, Los Santos and Veraguas earlier this month. On 10 November SINAPROC said teams provided humanitarian assistance to more than 300 families affected by the floods, with more households still to be reached. The Red Cross reported a total of 2,225 people affected during this time.