Final Hazards Report on Panama

Panama has a variety of rain-forests, a desert, and beaches located on both coastlines, the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean. It connects both North and South America. It is shaped almost like an S shape, with its Caribbean coastline being 800 miles and the pacific one being 1,060 miles long, which lead to the that connect Panama to Costa Rica and the Colombian border. That being said Panama has natural hazards just like any other country, two of those being earthquakes and floods. Because of Panama's tectonic plates there are earthquakes that happen in Panama there are partly large earthquakes with strengths of more than 7.0, which cause damages within a radius of over 100 kilometers. Due to the special tectonic situation of the country, there are more earthquakes than average. The Panamanian shelf break and inland adds a higher degree of tectonic complexity to the area. The Panama micro-plate is moving northward to the Caribbean Plate. Its ongoing collision with South America occurs at a rate of approximately 10-20 millimeters a year. Earthquakes also caused a subsequent tsunami, which claimed further lives and damages.

The second one is tsunamis/floods because of Panama's large earthquake magnitudes there are chances of tsunamis and flooding. El Nino Southern Oscillation left impacts on Panama. I think it is important to address these hazards and should be a priority because Panama being the anchor of two countries is more vulnerable to disaster which can cost lots of money to rebuild and many lives will be lost. Between 1982 and 2008, Panama was struck by 32 natural disaster events, with total economic damages totaling an estimated $86 million. One of my biggest recommendations for tsunamis is to be prepared, meaning the country should teach their residents how to be prepared for any natural disaster. Extra help in evacuating families would be helpful and having secure places to use as evacuation meeting points. Because earthquakes are unpredictable we know that there are times that Tsunamis/floods come after that sending out notifications of a warning in case of tsunamis gives people time .

Panama has severe rainfalls and is known to have intense rainfalls and floods so creating extra safe homes and shelters for those affected by these storms is very important. Panama’s interior is largely made up of steep, rough mountains and upland plains is what surrounds the coastal areas. According to the relief web the President of Panama placed a plan on preventing future disaster risks, including adverse impacts from climate change “Panama’s Ministry of Government and SINAPROC, PDC’s assessment offered a detailed multi-hazard risk profile of the nation as well as its 13 provinces. It also included a comprehensive disaster management analysis with recommendations for achieving advanced capacity”.

The areas that I would put as a priority would be the western areas of Panama, San Blas Archipelago which lie off the north coast of the Isthmus of Panama, east of the Panama Canal, the coastal areas of Toro and colon. “According to preliminary data from the National Civil Protection System (SINAPROC) 2 , 35 communities have been affected. Approximately 5,435 homes have been directly affected, 27,189 people affected, one person dead, and 858 people in collective centers”. Because these areas are close enough to the more risked parts in Panama and it is surrounded by water, providing extra help and extra insurance on houses and businesses. Panamas is one of the countries with natural disasters so being able to provide that to residents who have higher chances of disaster would be helpful to them. Not much can be done to avoid hazardous disasters because of Panama's unique shape and being surrounded by water Panamanians can only be prepared for the disasters they have coming the country can provide them with a safety plan and safe zone they can have refugee in, also the most important parts would be to have their homes insured and their belongings safe in order to have everything ready for evacuation.

I would construct my house around La Pintada, Panama because it is a town in the Cocle Province and it has a population of 3,882 people. It is located in the hills of the northwest of Penonome. Since it is located in the hills, I would think it would be less hazardous with tsunamis and we would be in a safe zone. It is one of the areas that is not surrounded by much of the sea like the other areas it does have a river flowing by the province but it is not much of a hazard. “Panama ranks 14th among countries most exposed to multiple hazards based on land area. The country has 15 percent of its total area exposed and 12.5 percent of its total population vulnerable to two or more hazards. In addition, Panama ranks 35th among countries with the highest percentage of total population considered at relatively high mortality risk from multiple hazards.”