Panama's Main Natural Hazards
Throughout this semester, we've been learning about how Panama is prone to many natural disasters. The Pacific Ring of Fire, also known as the Circum-Pacific Belt is an area along the Pacific Ocean where the majority of the Earth's earthquakes and volcanoes take place. Even though Panama is just located outside of the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the reason for the occurrence of many natural disasters that hit the country is because of how close they are to the Pacific Ring of Fire. Panama receives various natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, heavy rainfall, landslides, floods, droughts, and much more. However the main natural hazards that occur in Panama are heavy rainfall and earthquakes.
First of all, heavy rainfall is common to occur in the country of Panama. In the country, there is a hurricane/rainy season which takes place around June to November where heavy rainfall, flooding, and strong winds become present. Even though hurricanes hardly hit Panama because it's located south of the hurricane belt, they get heavy rainfall and winds from the hurricanes that just miss the country. During Panama's hurricane/rainy season, there is an estimated 250-700 millimeters of rainfall that is brought onto the country. Annually, there is around 1900 millimeters of total rainfall but could vary depending on the region and altitude of the area in Panama. The area that most rainfall occurs is in the western mountains which is located on the Caribbean.
In the country of Panama, another main natural hazard that commonly takes place is earthquakes. The main reason why Panama gets a lot of earthquakes is because of the tectonic plates and where they are located. Tectonic plates are huge, irregular slabs of solid rock that is usually made up of continental and oceanic lithosphere, the outermost shell on Earth. The tectonic plates that are located beneath Panama are the North Andes Plate, Nazca Plate, Cocos Plate, and the Caribbean Plate. When these tectonic plates slowly move, there is a chance of them rubbing or getting stuck on their edges because of friction which triggers earthquakes, mountain building, and creates volcanoes. The most earthquakes recorded in Panama from 2011 to 2021 was in the year 2018 with more than 2,500 earthquakes registered which shows the common occurrence of earthquakes in the country.
Since there are a lot of natural hazards that take place in Panama, especially heavy rainfall and earthquakes, there is a need for a mitigation system to help the population. For heavy rainfall, flooding can occur so it is best to be aware of what is happening and be prepared to act in case if you have to evacuate for your safety. It should be recommended to have shelters for people who evacuate their area for safety reasons where they would house the citizens and supply them with resources such as food, water, and clothing. There should be alert sirens to signal the people of the country what's happening and to be prepared. Since they experience a lot of earthquakes, their capacity to endure them gets better with time. If part of the government's property us destroyed from earthquakes, a portion of the damage is covered by the government. They also offer safety advice, such as how to construct houses that will lower the chance of accidents and improve public safety.
In Panama, there are areas that are most prone to natural hazards such as heavy rainfall and earthquakes while there are safe areas where people should want to live for the safety and health of their families. For example, the area that I would target to help first for heavy rainfall and floods is the Rio Indio watershed which is west of the Panama Canal. Adding on, the area I would target to help first for earthquakes around the Panama Canal Watershed. In this area, they are the most prone to earthquakes which can ultimately cause damage to dams, floods, and loss of property and even life. If I was living in Panama and wanted to construct a house where it would be the best spot in the country to avoid these natural hazards, I would build my house in Santiago, Panama which seems like the best spot to avoid natural disasters.
References:
Disaster Risk Management in Latin America and the Caribbean Region, www.gfdrr.org/sites/default/files/publication/drm-country-note-2010-panama.pdf. Accessed 15 Dec. 2023.
Mackey, Cari. “Panama Does Not Have Hurricanes and Here’s Why.” Morrillo Beach Eco R, 24 Apr. 2023, www.morrillobeachresort.com/post/panama-does-not-have-hurricanes-and-here-s-why.
“Panama Climate.” AdventureSmith Explorations, 2 Feb. 2022, adventuresmithexplorations.com/trips/panama/climate/#:~:text=The%20rainiest%20areas%20are%20in%20the%20western%20mountains%20on%20the%20Caribbean.
“Ring of Fire.” National Geographic, education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/ring-fire/#:~:text=The%20Ring%20of%20Fire%2C%20also,along%20the%20Ring%20of%20Fire. Accessed 14 Dec. 2023.
Salas, Erick Burgueño. “Number of Earthquakes Registered in Panama from 2011 to 2021.” Statista, 30 Nov. 2023, www.statista.com/statistics/717153/number-earthquakes-registered-panama/#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20more%20than%202%2C500,in%20the%20Central%20American%20country.
“What Is a Tectonic Plate?” USGS, 5 May 1999, pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/tectonic.html
“World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal.” Climatology | Climate Change Knowledge Portal, climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/panama/climate-data-historical#:~:text=Panama%20has%20a%20hot%20and,of%20rainfall%20across%20the%20country. Accessed 14 Dec. 2023.
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