News

Panama floods wreck infrastructure as TSF flies in

04-12-2008 - BGAN is helping coordinate humanitarian relief as thousands are stranded by ongoing floods in Panama.

More than 6,500 people in the provinces of Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Veraguas, Colon and Darien have been forced to leave their homes and are staying in 30 relief centres.

Many bridges, roads and telecommunications have been seriously affected by the floods and Inmarsat-sponsored relief agency Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) has deployed a team from its office in Nicaragua armed with two BGAN terminals to assist the relief effort.

Vital coordination
TSF's Monique Lanne Petit said: "In the province of Bocas del Toro the telecommunication systems are out of service. The United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team therefore asked for our support to install emergency communication services to support the disaster response, to facilitate coordination and enable aid agencies to communicate from the affected areas."

TSF's emergency responders are now coordinating relief efforts on the ground with the United Nations and Panama's National System of Civil Protection.

www.tsfi.org

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