Panama
1.1 Panama Humanitarian Background
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Disasters, Conflicts and Migration

Natural Hazards

Type

Occurrence

Comments / Details

Droughts

Yes

The main impacts are in the agricultural sector mostly in the Arco Seco region which extends from the province of Cocle, Los Santos, Herrera to Veraguas. In the event that droughts affect the population, the National Civil Protection System intervenes to provide assistance.  Dry season: January to May.  

Earthquakes

Yes

Panama is considered as a country of seismic risk, however, the recurrence of this type of event is not significant when compared to other countries in the region. The country is part of the Panama bloc or Microplate, which is an active seismic area.  The most important geologic faults are found in Tonosi, Gatun and the deformed “belt of Northern Panama”. There are records of earthquakes taking place in the province of Los Santos (1913), Bocas del Toro (1916), Veraguas (1941), Panama (1971), Darien (1974), and the most severe occurred in Bocas del Toro (1991), leaving behind a death toll 23 casualties, 337 injured and 720 destroyed homes.     

Epidemic

Yes

The Ministry of Health controls minor epidemic outbreaks that occur and relies on administrative divisions for health disasters and the mitigation of its effects over the population.

Extreme Temperatures

Yes

High temperatures are common during the country’s dry season filing temperatures ranging within 35°C to 37°C. The last occurrence setting record high temperatures at 38°C was the “El Niño” Phenomenon in 2009.

Floods

Yes

Panama is prone to flooding during the yearly rainy season due to several variables.  Among such, the great number of populations that live in vulnerable conditions on river slopes, in addition to bad practices of urban and territorial planning in the capital city.  Prolonged periods of heavy rains (April to December) have provoked economic losses, deaths and injuries at a low scale.

Plague Infestation

Yes

Zika / Hantavirus[1]. Cases are assisted by action of the relevant authorities, yet, low compliance f the health and hygiene provisions by the population makes plague control difficult to some extent.

Landslide

Yes

Panama’s vulnerability to landslides is attributable to the indiscriminate use of land, rain precipitations, seismic activity, along with the activities related to the disorderly construction of housing projects and deforestation.

Volcanic Eruptions

No

For years now, no volcanic eruptions have been recorded.  Nevertheless, there are 24 volcanic centers, including the Baru Volcano (3,475m) located in the province of Chiriqui, considered inactive. 

High Tides

Yes

The reduction of mangrove forests in certain regions of the geography has provoked the oceans impact over coastal zones, hence provoking groundswells.

Forest Fires

Yes

Quite common in Panama, caused by spontaneous ignition, the climatic situation or mainly due to human activity in the Darien area.  Authorities from the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of Panama rely on contingency plans to mitigate forest fires.    

Strong Winds

Yes

Panama, occasionally endures severe storms. Nevertheless, does not have hurricane-force winds due to its geographical position.

Further Comments

Although Panama does not present the magnitude or recurrence of natural disasters in comparison to the rest of the countries in the region, the country is still exposed to these events.

Man-made Events

Civil Conflicts

No

Panama has not had civil conflicts since year 1903.

International Conflict

No

Illegal operations of traffickers in Colombia take place at Panama’s remote border regions.  (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/pm.html)

Internally Displaced Persons

No

N/A

Presence of Refugees

Yes

The refugee population officially recognized by the Panamanian government consists mostly of Colombians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, Cubans and people from northern CentralAmerican countries (mainly El Salvador).  In 2019, Nicaraguans were the highest number of asylum applicants in the country. (Reference: ACNUR & NRC, 2019. Panama: Protection Monitoring – June to December 2019. Extracted from acnur.org)

Landmines / UXO present

No

N/A

Further  Comments 

N/A

[1] WHO (2020). Panama country profile. Extracted from who.int/countries

For a more detailed database on disasters by country, please see the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters Country Profile

Seasonal Effects on Logistics Capacities

Seasonal Effects on Transportation

Type of Transportation

Time of the Year

Comments / Details

Primary Road Transport

April to  December

Increased traffic flow due to national holidays at towns nearby highways, or congestion in roads due to accidents.

During rainy seasons, roads might be prone to floods, especially in the capital city.  

Secondary Road Transport

April to  December

Increased traffic flow due to national holidays at towns nearby highways, or congestion in roads due to accidents.

During rainy seasons, roads might be prone to floods, especially in the capital city.  

Rail Transport

N/A

N/A

Air Transport

April to 

December

October to  December

The tropical rainy season from April to December, and the migration of birds from October to December, may in some cases interfere with airport operations.


Occasionally there are union strikes, but have not caused service interruptions. 

Waterway Transport

N/A

N/A

Seasonal Effects on Storage and Handling

Activity Type

Time Frame

Comments / Details

Storage

N/A

              N/A

Handling

N/A N/A

Other

N/A N/A


Capacity and Contacts for In-Country Emergency Response

Government

The National Civil Protection System (SINAPROC) is the entity empowered to respond to emergencies caused by natural or anthropogenic disasters. The SINAPROC is also empowered to establish policies and action plans directed to reduce disaster vulnerabilities and impacts, nationwide.  (Law No. 11 of February 2005).

The moment disaster strikes, all public, private and non-governmental entities linked to the civil protection, must coordinate actions in accordance to that established by the SINAPROC.  For such effects, SINAPROC has an Emergency Operations Center (COE, for its acronym in Spanish), whose purpose is to maintain coordination between the different competent authorities in order to provide attention, protection and assistance to the affected population. COE’s organization chart is comprised of six divisions: Emergency & Response; Health; Infrastructure & Public Services; Logistics & Humanitarian Assistance; Shelters; and Security.  Each of these divisions coordinate field related response actionsand are designated by a coordinating entity and supporting institutions.

The decision on the declaration of a state of emergency, issuance of an international appeal or offer of humanitarian assistance befalls over the President of the Republic. Next, it will be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the General Secretariat who will be in charge of the diplomatic coordination for the request, transit or offer of assistance.  In this context, SINAPROC takes the role as humanitarian management coordinator through the Coordination Center for Humanitarian Assistance (CCAH, for its initials in Spanish) interinstitutional body in charge of the humanitarian cargo movement and response actions.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs more so counts upon its Coordination and Information Center (CECODI, for its acronym in Spanish), assigned likewise, to the General Secretariat, created to offer assistance and follow-up to Panamanians abroad in case of force majeure.

For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Government Contact List.

Humanitarian Community

International Organizations with offices and activities in Panama:

Humanitarian Organizations Presence
Regional National
United Nations System (Organizations)

1

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)


2

UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)


3

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

4

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

5

United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)


6

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)


7

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)


8

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OUCHR)


9

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)


10

International Organization for Migration (IOM)

11

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) World Health Organization (WHO)


12

Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)


13

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

14

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)


15

United Nations Volunteers (UNV)


16

World Food Programme (WFP)


International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

17

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

18

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)


Non-Governmental Organizations

19

Adventist Development & Relief Agency (ADRA)


20

Child Fund International


21

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)


22

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)

23

Plan International


24

RET International

25

Techo International


26

Save the Children


27

World Vision International


Other Organizations

28

Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID)


29

DHL – Disaster Response Team


For more information on humanitarian agency contact details, please see the following link: 4.2 Humanitarian Agency Contact List.


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