Heavy Rains, Flooding Kill 8 in Panama
Pastor Dale Morgan
Nov 25, 11:41 PM EST
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Heavy Rains, Flooding Kill 8 in Panama*
PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) -- Heavy rains and flooding in Panama have left
at least eight people dead and damaged hundreds of homes, the government
said Friday.
The rains, which began Monday and were predicted to last until Saturday,
have caused rivers to overflow and bridges to collapse, cutting off
several communities northwest of the capital of Panama City, authorities
said.
The dead included two men killed in a landslide, two men who drowned, a
couple killed when a tree fell on their house, and a pregnant woman who
suffered a spike in her blood pressure but failed to receive medical
attention because her community had been cut off, said National Civil
Protection Director Roberto Velasquez.
The eighth fatality occurred in the community of Capira, 50 miles west
of the capital, Velasquez said. He did not release any details.
A search was also under way for a park guard reported missing in the
Colon province, the federal Environment Department said.
On Friday, officials sent first aid, bottled water, dry goods and other
domestic items by helicopter to the Cocle, Colon, and Panama provinces,
Interior Minister Ileana Golcher said.
More than 200 houses have been destroyed and nearly 700 others damaged,
the Civil Protection Department said.