The leaking of some 11.5 million cubic litres of water from the Panama canal this week has resulted in unprecedented levels of flooding in the surrounding area.
Residents have been urged to seek higher ground immediately as the Clayton and Corozal regions have been innundated with water, with many in the City of Knowledge likely to lose their homes. A large number of community buildings have also been destroyed.
Attempts are underway by specially trained teams to plug the leak. They have so far attempted to block the flow of water with a carefully constructed layer of Panama hats.
They believed the supply of naturally occurring hats, with their stiff, fibrous texture, might be the answer to the leak which has withstood a number of other attempts.
Unfortunately, this has not been the case, and the wastage of approximately $2 million dollars of Panama hats has been criticised by the local authorities.
