Week 10: Extreme Weather Events in Panama

Week 10: Extreme Weather Events

 
In Panama, there are many extreme weather events that occur in the country such as intense and protracted rainfalls, windstorms, floods, droughts, wildfires, earthquakes, landslides, tropical cyclones, and tsunamis. The most common extreme weather event that occurs in Panama would be rainfalls which causes floods and landslides. In Panama, this is called the hurricane/rainy season which happens from June to November. Panama isn't usually directly impacted by hurricanes, but these hurricanes cause heavy rainfall and other hazards to inhabit the country. The people and country of Panama deal with many extreme weather events as Panama ranks 14th among countries most exposed to multiple hazards based on land area.

Tropical forests mitigate extreme weather events – EcoCircuitos Panama Travel Blog and News

One of the extreme weather events Panama goes through are floods because of the common occurrence of heavy rainfall. On November 21, 2021, there was a deadly flash flood warning in Panama which took the lives of two people with one gone missing. This happened in Las Cuevas de Bayano which is about 50 km east of Panama City. This flood caused people getting swept away by the floodwater, families to evacuate, and properties destroyed as well. Panama not only has floods and heavy rainfall, they also get some drought here and there as well. In August 2023 which is halfway through their rainy season, one of the wettest countries in the world is having one of their driest seasons on record. This drought is leading to less water in the Panama Canal which is limiting the amount of ships carrying supplies to pass through. With a limited amount of supply ships passing through, that means there will be less supplies for the people of Panama.


References:

Davies, Richard. “Panama – Deadly Flash Floods in Panama Province.” FloodList, 22 Nov. 1970, floodlist.com/america/panama-floods-november-2021. 

Wallace, Alicia. “A Severe Drought Is Affecting the Panama Canal. That’s Not a Good Sign for Supply Chains - or Your Holiday Shopping | Cnn Business.” CNN, Cable News Network, 6 Sept. 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/08/26/economy/panama-canal-supply-chain/index.html. 

“World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal.” Vulnerability | Climate Change Knowledge Portal, climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/panama/vulnerability#:~:text=Panama%20experiences%20a%20series%20of,El%20Nino%20Southern%20Oscillation%20impacts. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 4: Volcanic History in Panama

Image
Week 4: Volcanoes In Panama, there are a total of four volcanoes which isn't as many compared to other countries. Two of these volcanoes are Holocene while the other two are considered as Pleistocene volcanoes. Going more into detail, Holocene volcanoes are volcanoes that were active in the past 11,700 years while Pleistocene volcanoes are volcanoes that were active from 11,700 to 2.5 million years ago. The Tisingal and La Yeguada volcanoes are the two Pleistocene volcanoes that are located in Panama which aren't active. However, the Baru and El Valle volcanoes are the two Holocene volcanoes that are located in Panama which are active. The El Valle volcano is considered to be a still active volcano, but there hasn't been any recorded evidence of when it last erupted. However, the Baru volcano is the youngest major volcano located in Panama and the most recently active which it last erupted around 500 years ago in 1550. In 770 AD, the Baru volcano largely erupted which destr
Read more

Week 13: Coastal Erosion in Panama

Image
  Week 13: Coastal Erosion In Panama, there are some parts of the country where coastal erosion occurs. According to the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, coastal erosion is when "local sea level rise, strong wave action, and coastal flooding wear down or carry away rocks, soil, and/or sands along the coast. Coastal erosion occurs when there are strong currents and high waves which erodes the coast by breaking off sediment particles or moving rocks. Since Panama gets a good amount of extreme weather events including storms and flooding, this causes the country to have coastal erosions. Furthermore, climate change and human activities plays a role in the creation of coastal erosion as well. Gardi Sugdub, also known as Crab Island, is a tiny island off Panama's coast and has been a home to Guna Indigenous people for over 100 years. They have faced many problems and coastal erosion is one of them with floods and storms causing a rise in sea levels. Not only are floods and storms c
Read more