{"id":18337,"date":"2026-10-27T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=18337"},"modified":"2026-10-27T12:04:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T17:04:05","slug":"minister-of-enviroment-orders-indefinite-waterfall-closure-after-chagres-river-landslide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/crime-safety\/minister-of-enviroment-orders-indefinite-waterfall-closure-after-chagres-river-landslide\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister of Enviroment Orders Indefinite Waterfall Closure After Chagres River Landslide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Panama&#8217;s Environment Ministry has imposed an <strong>indefinite waterfall closure<\/strong> at <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chagres_National_Park\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">La Cascada<\/a> in the <a href=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/travel-transportation-tourism\/urgent-maintenance-begins-today-on-9-overpasses-in-the-capital\/\" rel=\"internal\">Chagres River<\/a>, effective Tuesday, October 27. The order follows a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usgs.gov\/programs\/landslide-hazards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">landslide<\/a> on Monday that injured a National Police officer inside <a href=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/environment-wildlife\/950-rangers-deployed-to-panama-protected-areas-for-holiday-surge\/\" rel=\"internal\">Chagres National Park<\/a>. Authorities confirmed the officer received immediate medical attention and remains in stable condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The closure applies to all visitors, both Panamanian citizens and foreign tourists, with no exceptions until further notice. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miambiente.gob.pa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ministry officials<\/a> stated the restriction is mandatory and will remain in place until geological assessments confirm the area is safe for public access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">Comunicamos que, a partir de hoy, queda cerrado de forma indefinida el sector de La Cascada, en el r\u00edo Chagres, dentro del Parque Nacional\nChagres, debido a los riesgos detectados en la zona.\n\nhttps:\/\/t.co\/CawXGCKMzr https:\/\/t.co\/DfgPVoS1Rp<\/p>&mdash; Ministerio de Ambiente de Panam\u00e1 (@MiAmbientePma) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MiAmbientePma\/status\/2115123945645228376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 27, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Indefinite Waterfall Closure Triggers Safety Assessment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The National System of Protected Areas is leading the investigation into what caused the slope failure. Officials are specifically examining whether the magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck Panama on October 9, along with its aftershocks, may have destabilized the terrain. Teams from the National Civil Protection System, known as Sinaproc, are conducting on-site inspections to determine what safety measures are needed before any reopening can be considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ministry emphasized that the restriction is limited to the La Cascada sector only. Other areas and attractions within Chagres National Park continue operating normally, according to the official statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d63011.040655432225!2d-79.61609157832031!3d9.2272933!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x8fab4f53187493b5%3A0x1ed865bc6febc44d!2sEcoturismo%20Chagres%20Panam%C3%A1!5e0!3m2!1ses!2spa!4v1793120456155!5m2!1ses!2spa\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" style=\"border:0;\" allowfullscreen=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tourism Operators Face Restricted Access<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ministry officials have directed tour operators and the general public to comply with the closure order and avoid the restricted zone entirely. In a statement, the agency stressed that visitor safety takes priority over all other considerations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The safety of visitors and their lives comes first&#8221; [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The landslide incident underscores ongoing concerns about geological stability in Panama&#8217;s protected areas following the October earthquake. Seismic events of that magnitude can weaken soil cohesion and increase landslide risk for weeks or months afterward, particularly in areas with steep slopes and river erosion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chagres National Park serves as a critical watershed for the Panama Canal and hosts numerous ecotourism destinations. La Cascada has been a popular attraction for both domestic visitors and international travelers seeking freshwater swimming and waterfall experiences. The closure represents a significant disruption for local tour operators who depend on access to the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Authorities have not provided a timeline for when the assessment will conclude or when the <strong>indefinite waterfall closure<\/strong> might be lifted. Ministry officials said the decision to reopen will depend entirely on technical findings from the ongoing geological and structural evaluations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DfAU4NTD4lv\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DfAU4NTD4lv\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">Ver esta publicaci\u00f3n en Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DfAU4NTD4lv\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Una publicaci\u00f3n compartida por TVN Noticias (@tvnnoticias)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Panama&#8217;s Environment Ministry has imposed an indefinite waterfall closure at La Cascada in the Chagres River, effective Tuesday, October 27. The order follows a landslide on Monday that injured a National Police officer inside Chagres National Park. Authorities confirmed the officer received immediate medical attention and remains in stable condition. The closure applies to all<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18338,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31,32],"tags":[7670,5311,50,7669,7668],"class_list":["post-18337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-crime-safety","category-environment-wildlife","tag-chagres-river-landslide","tag-landslide","tag-panama","tag-panama-waterfall-closure","tag-waterfall"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18339,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18337\/revisions\/18339"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}