Panama — humanitarian situation

Panama faced severe weather impacts in mid-August 2026 as tropical waves generated prolonged atmospheric instability across Central America. Tropical Wave #32, entering Panamá on 12 August, caused flooding primarily in Bocas del Toro, the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, and the Naso Tjër Di Region, prompting the Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil SINAPROC to declare a Green Alert on 16 August for continued rain, storms, and wind gusts (Cruz Roja Panameña, IFRC). Severe weather affected approximately 3,700 people across Costa Rica and Panama OCHA. The Instituto de Meteorología e Hidrología de Panamá maintained forecasts for varied intensity rainfall and thunderstorms in affected provinces, sustaining concerns about further flooding and access disruptions in indigenous territories. As of June 2026, Panama hosted 2,733 recognized refugees, with the National Commission for the Protection of Refugees CONARE granting refugee status to 35 individuals from Colombia, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela during the second quarter UNHCR. UNHCR provided legal and technical support to CONARE in its capacity as technical commissioner, ensuring application of international protection standards in case assessments. Regional mobility patterns across Latin America and the Caribbean have shifted from high-volume northbound transit toward more fragmented, multidirectional, and intraregional movements, reflecting evolving policy environments and changing access to migration pathways IOM. These dynamics continue shaping mixed migration flows through Panama, particularly in the Darién region where territorial control by non-state armed groups in neighbouring Colombia maintains protection risks and access constraints along border corridors. Health sector concerns remained moderate, with the Americas region reporting 1,470,237 suspected dengue cases through epidemiological week 29, representing a 60 percent decrease compared to 2025 PAHO. However, measles cases increased during 2026, prompting PAHO to urge Member States to strengthen epidemiological surveillance, vaccination activities, and rapid response capacity ahead of mass gatherings with international participation.