Panama community pushed from Caribbean island by rising sea levels moves into new houses

By JUAN ZAMORANO
Associated Press

ISBERYALA, Panama (AP) — Hammocks have begun appearing this week in the doorways of 300 new houses built in what was previously a yucca field along Panama’s Caribbean coast. The houses were built for families from the country’s first low-lying island evacuated due to rising sea levels. Families from Gardi Sugdub island ferried stoves, gas cylinders, mattresses and other belongings first in boats and then in trucks to the new community of Isberyala. Most of Gardi Sugdub’s families have moved or are in the process of moving, but Isberyala’s freshly paved and painted streets named after historic Guna leaders are still largely empty.