<p>More than a thousand people in Panama were evacuated because of what authorities called historic flooding caused by record rainfall.<br /><br />President Ricardo Martinelli said it was the first time the canal was closed because of weather since it opened in 1914.<br /><br />"Our meteorologists says it's never rained so much in Panama in the 73 years that we've kept climate records," Martinelli said. He said eight people were dead.<br /><br />The last time the canal closed was on December 20 1989, when US troops invaded the country to topple President Manuel Noriega.<br /><br />The country's Civil Protection System put eastern Panama on high alert and issued evacuation orders for about 1,500 people in dozens of flooded neighborhoods.<br /><br />Authorities recovered the bodies of two girls who were on a boat that capsised in the town of Chepo in the southeast part of the country. The other deaths were reported in the Colon province.<br /><br />About 50 people in two communities were ordered to leave their homes and residents near the Chagres river were told to be on alert.<br /><br />The canal was closed after water overflowed the banks of lakes Gatun and Alajuela, which supply the canal. Authorities said they've opened the floodgates for both lakes.<br /><br />"We're taking measures to normalize transit operations in the coming hours," Manuel Benitez, the executive vice president of canal operations, said Wednesday afternoon.<br /><br />About 5 per cent of the world's naval commerce moves through the canal, and the US is its main user.<br /><br />Meteorologists say the heavy rains are part of the La Nina weather phenomenon.</p>
<p>More than a thousand people in Panama were evacuated because of what authorities called historic flooding caused by record rainfall.<br /><br />President Ricardo Martinelli said it was the first time the canal was closed because of weather since it opened in 1914.<br /><br />"Our meteorologists says it's never rained so much in Panama in the 73 years that we've kept climate records," Martinelli said. He said eight people were dead.<br /><br />The last time the canal closed was on December 20 1989, when US troops invaded the country to topple President Manuel Noriega.<br /><br />The country's Civil Protection System put eastern Panama on high alert and issued evacuation orders for about 1,500 people in dozens of flooded neighborhoods.<br /><br />Authorities recovered the bodies of two girls who were on a boat that capsised in the town of Chepo in the southeast part of the country. The other deaths were reported in the Colon province.<br /><br />About 50 people in two communities were ordered to leave their homes and residents near the Chagres river were told to be on alert.<br /><br />The canal was closed after water overflowed the banks of lakes Gatun and Alajuela, which supply the canal. Authorities said they've opened the floodgates for both lakes.<br /><br />"We're taking measures to normalize transit operations in the coming hours," Manuel Benitez, the executive vice president of canal operations, said Wednesday afternoon.<br /><br />About 5 per cent of the world's naval commerce moves through the canal, and the US is its main user.<br /><br />Meteorologists say the heavy rains are part of the La Nina weather phenomenon.</p>