Nine killed, 13 missing in floods
Heavy rains triggered flooding that engulfed large swath’s of Panama’s capital, killing nine people and leaving at least 13 others missing, authorities said today.
Downpours that began early on Friday afternoon caused rivers to overflow and sparked flash floods in several neighbourhoods.
Eastern Panama City was the hardest-hit, according to a statement released by Roberto Velasquez, director of Panama’s emergency-response crews.
In the poor and crowded San Miguelito district, on the capital’s eastern outskirts, rains triggered a mudslide that swept away a hillside home and killed three brothers, aged 11 months, 1 and 3. Family members and neighbours scrambled to save the infants, but were only able to recover their bodies.
At least six other people, including a 15-year-old girl, were swept away by rain-swelled rivers, authorities said.
Officials estimated the rain damaged 657 homes, leaving 2,520 people homeless, at least temporarily. Of those, six houses were destroyed.
New President Martin Torrijos toured some of the flooding zones late on Friday, saying “it’s been a tragic afternoon".
