Photos of Flood Damage in Valle Escondido Boquete Panama
Posted by Lee on November 5, 2009
The rain has started again in Boquete Panama.
These photos of the flooding in Valle Escondido in Boquete Panama are courtesy of Pam Pankratz
Comments
24 Responses to “Photos of Flood Damage in Valle Escondido Boquete Panama”Leave a comment, and if you'd like your own picture to show up next to your comments, go get a gravatar!
Lee
How is Valle del Rio? (msp?) I believe its the hotel just before you get to Escondido. Did they have any damage? If so, did you get any pics? Thanks for all your great work.
Mike,
There was no visible damage (from the front) to the hotel, or the apartments under construction, at Valle Del Rio.
Just to be clear, we did not have a flood. The river did not go outside its banks. The damage was caused by mudslides. A number of homes had mud go inside, but only one home sustained structural damage which is the red one shown in the photo.
Why has this happened now when we have never seen this in 8 years? A combination of an extremely dry rainy season, then an unusually heavy downpour caused the land in some areas to saturate quickly and give. The area above the red house apparently has construction along the ridge which eliminated trees and other plants that held back the soil. SINAPROC is looking into it to try and determine what can be done to stabilize that area.
We hope we have seen the end of the slides!
“Just to be clear, we did not have a flood”… and “I did not have sex with that woman”. See YouTube: Valle Escondido Flood Nov. 3, 2009
Just to be clear… the water DID go over the banks of the river and there is NO construction along the ridge that gave way above the red house. I’ve walked the property myself. While I feel bad for the Owners of these damaged homes, perhaps one should not buy (or sell) a lot directly below a sheer cliff face? Oh, and still no running water in much of Valle Escondido, four days later.
It is only the humans nature to cast blame on the developer of the finest community in Chiriqui. As owners of anything, the ultimate responsibility belongs to the individual. What else can be said? It happened and it’s an unfortunate event
Right you are Bob (partially) as it certainly is an unfortunate event. The “survival mode” is quickly turning into the “blame game” around here, which I suppose is certainly human nature. That being said, who should bear the blame for damage to a home located below a sheer cliff wall – the person who built the house, or the developer who sold him the lot in that location? Maybe a little of both?
Let’s fix things and move forward.
The problem stems from land use along the canyon rim. Pastures and removal of native vegetation along the canyon rim facilitate erosion. A vegetational “buffer zone” should be put in place immediately to minimize future impacts.
All canyons are subject to erosion – it’s a natural process. However, anthropogenic activities exacerbate the process.
My response is for Samson who seems to think he is the know it all of Valle Escondido and the surrounding areas.
The water DID NOT go over the banks. The water and mud was flowing down the mountains from the landslides and consumed houses, villas, and other areas. Take a stroll through Valle Escondido and you’ll see the water still in it’s banks. I’m not denying that water levels didn’t rise, but for you to state with full certainty that it most certainly did break the banks is FALSE. Another thing that you’re lying about is the construction above the valley. I took the liberty of taking some photos (albeit not of the best quality, they’re taken with my cell phone) of the red house and the properties above it.
[IMG]http://i38.tinypic.com/348hcmu.jpg[/IMG]
this is of the red house and you can see if you look up someones fence/retaining wall of their backyard.
I tried to zoom in:
[IMG]http://i38.tinypic.com/2r23cid.jpg[/IMG]
Some residents of Valle Escondido went up there and also saw that there were homes and such. They were cutting the grass etc. You need to get your facts straight before you go making statements like you did. Also, a group of home owners in Valle Escondido have gone up to have a meeting with the property owners up there and assess what can be done. If there is no construction above the ridge, Samson, then who are they going to speak to?
By your statement in your last post you say “who should bear the blame for damage to a home located below a sheer cliff wall – the person who built the house, or the developer who sold him the lot in that location? Maybe a little of both?”
You also said how people are playing the “blame game.” Well you might want to take a look in the mirror because you seem more inclined to blame and attack Sam Taliaferro and everything he says than you are to actually present a non biased assessment.
These are direct links to the pictures in case those don’t go through:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=348hcmu&s=4
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2r23cid&s=4
Hi Alex,
Like I said, let the blame game begin…
I guess I was dreaming as I watched the river come up over the banks and start up the back steps to a condo, while more water came in through the front door?
And not when sure when I “attacked” Sam.
I’m not a know-it-all, but I was here and saw what happened. Get a grip.
By the way…nice pictures of a house along the canyon ridge WITH ABSOLUTELY NO DAMAGE TO THE SLOPE BELOW IT. Why do I waste my energy with people like you? You’re right, I’m wrong, OK?
If you all want to get technical, you will have to factor in the decision of the individual that actually purchased the property.Second, you can blame the person’s or agency that approved the building permit. I am not aware of any one specific location in Chiriqui where you cannot build? As long as you have the money you can do almost anything in Panama.I believe the only one to blame will be the owner of the home? They should have home owners insurance as well.They should consider themselves lucky living within the community.
Valle Escondido was the first premium upscale gated community in all of Chiriqui. Go back in the history books and look up other famous land developers like Robert Waterstripe,Slyvan Cohen, and Kelly Collier.Those guys are the pioneers that discovered Boquete and made it what it is today.
When you clear cut a forest, you remove the important root system that holds the land in place. Notice the photos, to the right of the picture, the forest is thick with trees ah root system. Bet there is little mudslide damage there. On the left (houses) the trees have been cut down thus removing and root system to hold the earth in place. Developers and or home owners need to learn to build around trees and not clear cut out parts of mountains.
Mother nature will always win dispite retaining wells and good intentions. Valle E is beautiful but not built to stop mudslides, they need to start replanting native trees, not retaining walls.
Are the lots in Puerto Escondido still over 100.00 M2? Property there is the same or more expensive than Aspen, Colorado!
Maybe after this flood, prices might be lowered.
The picture of the property above the canon ridge was the best I could to prove that there definitely ARE houses up there. There actually were slides on that part that damaged about 2 or 3 homes, but they were relatively small in comparison and hard to see between the trees etc.
Waste your energy with people like me? I’m sorry for the inconvenience it must have caused you to realize the fallacy of your statements.
Sorry, I meant Valle Escondido.
Lori is exactly right. The upper canyon rim as well as the “toe” needs to be protected with vegetation native to the area. Past slides have been colonized with grasses (the first stage in the successional process ). When the grasses are cut (as they are in VE and elsewhere in the area ) the young tree saplings are cut as well and the ecological succession process is arrested in a “pioneer” and unstable state. On the other hand, if the grasses are allowed to grow, they stabilize the soil and allow the young trees to grow which eventually will “shade out” the grasses and allow for the natural forest to regrow. The development of a mature forest community will then ensue and stabilize the canyon walls even further.
In VE, most homeowners who cut the “toe” of the slope, removed (or cut ) the grasses, and planted ornamental plants not adapted (through the evolutionary process ) to local conditions suffered ( all other factors equal ) the consequences.
Joe,
Just to be clear, no one in Valle Escondido to my knowledge has cut any trees or plants on the valley walls or above it. In fact we have planted many coffee plants where there was only grass in several areas. There has been a great amount of new agriculture and construction activity above Valle Escondido on both sides of the valley which have impacted us in a detrimental way. Judging from what I have witnessed around Boquete this combination of a very dry season and then a very heavy rain caused many slides in areas that were stable for centuries. I don’t know if any one thing can be blamed for this.
A year and a half ago there was another mudslide by our home in Valle Escondido after heavy, heavy rains. There was absolutely no construction going on above us and the trees that had been on the hillside for years came crashing down with the slide. There was heavy vegetation also growing on the side of the hill. Instead of debating the point about, build here, build there…the fact is that many of our homes in the valley have been violated with mud and water. One home inparticular almost in complete ruins. This person needs community help in cleaning up the 6-8feet of mud left by Mother Nature so he can salvage what ever belongs he has left. I am sure if you show up with shovels, wheel barrels and whatever neighborly help you can it will be greatly appreciated
Oh my gosh, these rants remind me of evesdropping while eating in the garden at Amigos when I visited Boquete twice. Loved it there but had to laugh at how some people talked trash about their neighbors behind their backs. Come on folks, be nice! You live in a magical kingdom!
I’m sorry to hear what happenened to Boquete again, and sooner that i had expected. My family had lived in Chiriqui on and off for 8 yrs, i was horrified when we moved back to Boquete and saw the way the trees were being cut down and how the mountains were practically just sliced to make as much room for homes without the proper studies, etc.. just keep in mind, you can not put all the blame on the contruction companies, they were just doing what they were asked to do and were allowed to do. we tried to warn people b4 we left that it would happenen again, and mark my words.” This is only the beggining and it is going to get alot worse, Heaven Forbid” That is what happens when you have people that are not qualified to make decisions,plans, permits etc. I truely feel sorry for all of you. God Bless You and keep you safe. Blondie
I’m glad to see my wife’s comments were posted in ref to the floods. Unfortunately, being a native from the Canal Zone and growing up in Boquete I must agree with her heart felt comments.I was just a kid living at my uncle Victor’s ( Lescure } farm along the river when the first well known (devastating) flood struck.That’s why many people left the Bajo of Boquete and began to live in the Fire & Rock Pit known as the Alto. Upon our last return to live in Boquete in 2006( Since our departure in 2000 ) we were shocked and in disbelief over the number of foreigners allowed to buy and build in the Bajo along the river and on the side of the mountains just for it’s beautiful view. I personally hold local government officials and greedy investors or land owners responsible for what has occured since everyone from there knows better. With all my personal experience,influence my family (Lescure’s)has in Boquete,my remembered Uncle Dr. Titi Alvarado and my wife’s support and help,I was unable to accomplish much due to the same reasons that I previuosly expressed. Instead my efforts were misconstrued as an activist or trouble maker in everything we tried to do for the people and the protection of what is to me & many others and has always been our home & wonderful memories, BOQUETE! We will never give up on trying to educate, advise & encourage people to do what is right to protect Boquete & everyones dreams. Unfortuntely it always seems that disasters must first happen on this Earth before people really care or join to do what is right & make dreams a reallity. Be advised that if you buck too hard you will have your set backs, but remember that nothing good has ever been accomplished without hard work, dedication, perserverance and courage. Please watch out for each other and Boquete. Now that everyone has seen how Mother Earth has struck and will strike back to protect the future of Boquete. Do what needs to be done so that all the children and my children may experience Boquete as I did growing up. God Bless You All & My Home Boquete. LIC Glenn Lescure
I’m sure Kelly and Sylvan would appreciate being linked with Bob Waterstripe as fellow pioneers in Boquete development.