Rain. More Rain. And Then Some
More Rain. The Atlantic Zone is
Under Water Again!
Just when things were looking
better for those in the affected
area of the Atlantic zone,
torrential rain continued to
pound the area, causing more
people to seek refuge in
temporary shelters from more
possible flooding.
As of yesterday morning the
number of people in the 20
shelters had diminished, but by
the afternoon, some 300 new
people and 7 new shelters were
opened.
According to the Comisión
Nacional de Emergencia (CNE) -
National Emergency Commission -
more than 2.316 people are now
house in shelters in Sarapiquí
and Limón.
The CNE is continuing it's red
alert for the area. The climatic
conditions have not gotten worse
in the last 24 hours, more rain,
which will mean more flooding
and possible mudslides. The
CNE's efforts are to minimize
the damage to property and life
while maintaining their relief
efforts.
The Red Cross reports that they
able to rescue some 100 people
stranded in the town of Estrada,
one a temporary dyke collapsed
flooding the area.
More than 7.000 foam mattresses,
7.823 blankets, 12.000 meal
rations and 53.000 litres of
water have been distributed by
emergency workers to those
affected and warehouses are in
good shape with enough food and
clothing to meet the needs of
the emergency.
The Instituto Meteorológico
Nacional (IMN) - the weatherman
- reports that today they are
expecting some 52 litres of
water per square meter to fall
on the area, similar to that of
Wednesday. In total, 838 litres
of water per square meter have
fallen on the area, 270% more
than the normal of 303 litres of
water per square meter monthly
average.
The forecast for the next couple
of days is much the same of what
has been for the last two days -
rain, strong winds and cold
temperatures. The weatherman
says that these conditions
should let up by Saturday or
Sunday at the very latest.
Police Bust Airport Gang
In a major police operation,
members of the Fuerza Publica in
Alajuela took down a group of 4
that dedicated themselves to
robbing tourists in and around
the San José airport.
Police have been tracking the
gang for some time and on
Wednesday morning a chase began
shortly after 9am near the Juan
Santamaria airport and were to
stop a taxi carrying the four
men.
The gang, according to police
reports, stationed themselves
near the airport watching
tourists' arrival and driving
off in their rented cars they
had earlier punctured the tires
and when the tourist would stop
to fix the flat, they would then
divest them of their belongings,
after using the guise of
offering help.
Police say that on Saturday they
had chased the same vehicle the
gang was using but lost them,
making their way through the
winding mountain roads that lead
into all sorts of direction.
The four suspects are being held
in police custody and will be
facing five separate charges
against them made by their
victims.
ICT To Be More Aggressive In
Promoting Tourism
The
Instituto Costarricense de
Turismo (ICT) - Tourism Board -
is planning an aggressive
campaign to attract more
tourists to Costa Rica and
change the way it collects funds
for that end.
In yesterday's report, we
reported that tourism was up in
Costa Rica. Head of the ICT,
Rodrigo Castro, said the natural
beauty and bio-diversity of
Costa Rica is the reason for an
increase in tourism of between
10% and 12% this year, with 1.6
million tourists expected for
2005.
In 1999 the number of tourists
reached the 1 million mark and
has been steadily growing,
reaching 1.4 million last year.
2005 will the best ever on
record, according to the Castro.
The number of tourists could
bring in some us$15 million
dollars to the coffers of the
ICT, collecting the 3% tax
levied on each hotel room.
The ICT is looking to change
that and is making asking that
the Comisión de Turismo de la
Asamblea Legislativa -
Legislative Commission on
Tourism - look into the
possibility of changing the 3%
for a us$10 to us$15 tax for
each visitor entering the
country, similar to what
neighbouring country do.
Nicaragua charges a $9 tax for
each tourist entering it's
territory, while Panama has a
$25 visa fee.
The increased revenue from the
proposed changes will help the
tourism board mount a more
aggressive campaign on the
international arena, according
to Castro, who says that now is
the time for Costa Rica to
attract more tourism.
The "No Artificial Ingredients"
campaign has been very
successful in several countries
according to Castro,
notwithstanding now is to
increase that exposure and to
more destinations.
Mexico for example invests more
than us$100 million dollars per
year on promoting tourism.
Countries like Cuba and the
Dominican Republic have more
aggressive tourism campaigns
than Costa Rica, which spends
about us$6 million dollars each
year, according to the ICT chief
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Cubans Try to Pass Themselves as
Mexicans
Like
magic it seems, a group of
Cubans were going to transform
themselves into Mexicans.
However, alert immigration
officials discovered the scam
and stopped the performance.
Marco Badilla, Director of
Migración y Extranjería, told
the story of how a group of 7
Cubans presented documents at
the airport with the intention
of traveling to Guadelajara,
Mexico. One them was a minor.
The group had documents that
said they were Mexican nationals
and were returning home.
However, their accent gave them
away. Cubans have a distinct
accent from Mexicans and sharp
immigration officials picked up
on the difference and began to
check closely their documents,
which turned out to be false.
The group had told immigration
officials that they had been in
Costa Rica for 8 years. On
closer check, only three of them
had been in the country for that
time, the others, immigration
officials are still checking
into their migratory status.
In the "old" days, immigration
officials at the San José
airport and land border points
did not have access to "instant"
information on a passport or
residency cedula emitted in
Costa Rica. Now, thanks to a new
computer system, an immigration
official can access the database
of all passports and residency
cedulas issued and get a instant
verification on the identity of
the person who the document was
issued to and any irregularities
associated with the documents.
Immigration officials also now
have access to information when
a person entered Costa Rica and
if that person has already left
the country or not. A person's
legal status can be immediately
verified at any border point.
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