According to Government Minister Dinoska Montalvo, more than five thousand people have been affected and eight people have died, as a consequence of landslides, collapse of bridges and severe floods.

Montalvo said the most affected provinces are Bocas del Toro and Chiriqui, where hundreds of affected families face conditions of extreme poverty and difficult access.

In these areas, security and rescue teams have responded to 393 emergencies, carrying out evacuations, rescues and landslide clearing works, he praised.

In Bocas del Toro, he added, the mountainous geography and the isolation of the communities increased the severity of the meteorological phenomenon.

In Chiriqui, the rains also severely damaged farmers, who lost crops due to the saturation of soils.

The press department of the Palacio de las Garzas (seat of the Executive) announced that the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, would travel this Wednesday to the city of Boquete (Chiriquí), one of the hardest hit by the rainfall.

For his part, the Minister of Public Works, José Luis Andrade, indicated that the magnitude of the damages requires a considerable investment for the repair and reconstruction of houses and roads, between 80 and 100 million dollars.

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