In only the third time in 96 years, the Panama Canal closed yesterday due to flooding. After being shut down for ten hours it reopened early this morning. Heavy rains around the Chagres River, caused the water in Lake Gatun, a significant part of the canal, to rise, forcing the shutdown. The last time the canal closed was in 1989, after the United States invaded Panama to topple strongman Manuel Noriega. Landslides forced the canal to close for several months from late 1915 to mid-1916, just months after it opened.