The International Charter Space and Major Disasters have been activated on 21 November 2016 due to several days of heavy rain in Panama. The activation was requested by the United States Geological Survey.
The National Civil Protection System of the country (SINAPROC) issued alerts for the provinces of Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro and Veraguas and SINAPROC teams have evacuated several communities living along the Chiriqui Viejo river. According to the FloodList portal, the floods damaged houses and forced affected people to evacuate to temporary shelters in different districts.
On 20 October 2016 the International Charter Space and Major Disaster was activated due to floods in Panama. The request of activation was due to heavy rain in the Darien and Tonosi province. The situation can worsen because more rain is expected on the following days. The activation of the charter was requested by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) on behalf of the Tropic Humid Water Center for Latin America and the Caribbean or CATHALAC for its acronym in Spanish. Approximately 3.500 people have been affected and there are no victims, reported the local daily La Prensa.
On 18 August 2014 the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters was activated for floods and landslides in the Republic of Panama at the request of the USGS on behalf of SINAPROC / Chiriqui Province / Municipality of Tierra Alta.
UN-SPIDER participated in the Regional Consultation and Awareness Raising Workshop on Integral Disaster Risk Management in Central America which took place in Panama City, Panama, from 26 to 28 November 2013.
UN-SPIDER's Regional Support Office located in Panama, the Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama signed the Center´s host country agreement on 11 July 2012. The instrument was duly signed by His Excellency Roberto C. Henríquez, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama and CATHALAC's Director General, in the presence of Francisco Álvarez De Soto, Vice Minister of Foreign affairs, at the Republic of Panama's Bolívar Palace.
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