Government team meets to plan for “significant effects” of tropical storm Julia

The effects of tropical storm Julia, on its path through the Caribbean, will make its effects felt in Panama starting at noon on Saturday, October 8, according to ETESA Hydrometeorology specialists.

“It will be a crucial day and have significant effects,” they say in a statement.

Earlier, a high-level government team met to assess the situation, hours after the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc) declared a yellow alert for eight provinces in the country.

The meeting at the National Emergency Operations Center (COE).was led by the Government ministers, Janaina Tewanei,  Security MinisterJuan Manuel Pino; the Vice Minister of Social Development, Milagros Ramos together with the governors of the whole country.

“The immediate actions to be carried out in all the areas declared with green and yellow alerts were coordinated, in order to safeguard the population,” highlights a statement from the Presidency.

According to ETESA Hydrometeorology, the areas under a warning are Veraguas (south, center, and north), Colón, Herrera, Los Santos. To the east of Panama City (Bayano, Chimán, Chepo, and surroundings), Bocas del Toro, Ngäbe Buglé, Chiriquí, the southeast of Darién and the Gulf of Panama will also register intense rains.

They recommended “extreme vigilance” throughout the Panamanian Pacific, since from approximately 1:00 pm “the confluence of strong winds from the north and south will cause intense rains with electrical activity.”

During the follow-up meeting on the status of Julia in the country, the specialists indicated that the soils are saturated throughout the territory due to the September rains, “and winds between 40 and 50 kilometers per hour are already registered. and that precautionary maritime conditions are maintained on both sides”.