Garbage blocked drains contribute to city flooding

Drivers  were rescued from cars, homes  and streets were flooded and traffic ground to a halt in many sectors  as heavy rainfall fell continuously on Panama City on Thursday, May 12.

Homes were flooded in Panama Viejo, Pueblo Nuevo and San Francisco, where a quadriplegic  resident had to be rescued on Calle 74, and in many areas, including the access road to Centennial bridge, trees were brought down. {jathumbnail off}

People were rescued from cars in Campo Limbergh and Via Frangipani.  In Punta Pacifica  in front of the flagship Super 99, the street was flooded  and some Parked cars covered submerged.

On  Avenida Balboa , long lines of public transit waited when cars were unable to pass through flood waters near Santo Tomas Hospital.

The Civil protection authority reported that the primary cause of the flooding was a perennial problem in the city … drains blocked with garbage.