"Until we do not change the culture of littering everywhere, the Government has to invest millions of dollars to prevent floods," said former Director of the National System of Civil Protection (Sinaproc) Arturo Alvarado, after the rainfall recorded on Tuesday and left floods in several communities of Panama and San Miguelito.
Alvarado said that the main cause of the flooding is bad the disposal of waste by the citizens and the lack of dredging of rivers.
"The problem that occurs all the time in the corregimiento of Juan Díaz is not caused by the river that bears the same name of the community, but by the gorge La Gallinaza, which must be dredged," he said.
The former public servant acknowledged an important job has to be done to clean drainage systems that are clogged with cement on 50th Street and Punta Pacifica.
"The sewers in the capital city already collapsed, so the authorities must do a million dollar investment to build new ones", he said.
Alvarado made a call of attention to people to raise awareness and care for their environment and to not harm third parties causing floods.
For his part, José Donderis, current director of Sinaproc, coincided with his predecessor and said that the only cause of the flooding is the bad disposal of garbage.
He explained that the first thing that they found when they arrived at the area was a lot of trash in the sewer, causing floods.
He noted that another possible reason would be the design of the pluvial system, which should be evaluated, however, what they have found is garbage and constructions in flood-prone areas.
Dredging of the rivers
The official explained that, in the summer, the authorities carried out actions like dredging of rivers and cleaning drainage systems, however, the population has to join the effort to keep everything clean so that this type event does not happen again.
Affectations
Approximately 12 families residing in the corregimiento of Parque Lefevre were affected when their homes were flooded by heavy rains that occurred on Tuesday in the afternoon, Sinaproc reported.
He added that in the District of San Miguelito floods, landslides and the collapse of a wall in a residence were also reported.
Another consequence the beginning of the rainy season has brought were several flooded streets in San Miguelito, Via Argentina, Tocumen, Juan Díaz, Punta Pacifica, Via Porras, El Carmen, and Vía Ricardo J. Alfaro, which affected several drivers.