A BEACH was closed, entry to a national park forbidden,  and  boats were banned from mooring to buoys in some parts of the Atlantic Coast, following a high waves and wind  alert on Sunday, Mar.5.

Winds of up to 80 km an hour and waves up to 3.9 meters were forecast, and to cap it all there were high and extreme UV ratings.

At El Arenal beach in Pedasi, Playa  Reina in Veraguas,  and Gorgona in West Panama, bathing was prohibited Many beaches on the Pacific coast were affected by winds at over 60  kilometers per hour.

Etesa Hydro-meteorological Service said that similar  winds would also be experiences  in the high and lowlands of Chiriquí and in the Coclé Province.

Etesa alo  predictede scattered clouds and weak rains in north Coclé, north and east of Panama, and rains "of varying intensity" in the Chiriqui Highlands where Baru Vocanic National Park was closed.

The entire Caribbean slope, faced  "windy conditions"  generating  waves of up to 3.9 meters.

Boats warning
In the Guna Yala indigenous region, authorities banned boat buoys at Agligandí and Dubwala, due to strong waves, The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) issued a statement in recommending smaller craft with outboard engines and increase their safety measures.

Authorities are looking for a 24-year-old man who was reported missing in the Antón Valley a mountainous tourist area in the province of Coclé. The National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc) reported the search operation on its Twitter account, but gave no further details.