Floods affected some 2,400 people in a province on Panama's Caribbean coast in the past 24 hours, the authorities said on Tuesday.

It is estimated that some 600 houses were damaged in the province of Bocas del Toro, said Javier Castillo, the operation chief of the National System of Civil Protection (Sinaproc).

Most of the affected families are in the regions of Una Milla, Puerto Almirante and Nuevo Paraiso, Castillo added.

Floods occurred when the water level rose in the Teribe River due to heavy rains.

Castillo said though the rains have stopped, uncertainties still remain in the affected areas, where five children have been rescued.

The Panamanian authorities have sent humanitarian aid including tents, food and drinking water to the affected area.

The aid was sent by plane as the Inter-American Highway was also affected by the floods, leaving Bocas del Toro isolated from the rest of the country.