It's Still Raining in Limón.
More Flooding Expected
The rain just won't give up. The
area of Limón has been inundated
all week from light to
torrential rains and areas like
Estrada de Matina had to be
evacuated, again, and the
Sixaola river in the town of the
same name left it banks, again.
Another 420 persons had to be
evacuated and take refuge in
shelters set up by the Comisión
Nacional de Emergencia (CNE) -
National Emergencey Commission.
The latest is in addition to
more than 2.376 people are now
in 18 shelters.
CNE officials believe that if
the rain doesn't stop soon, more
communities will be affected and
it could reach the levels of the
past couple of weeks, were some
13.000 had to temporarily leave
their homes for higher ground.
The Instituto Meteorológico
Nacional (IMN) - the weatherman
- says that satellite images
show an abundance of cloud and
rain for the northern zone and
strong winds associated with the
rain. However, it is expected
that the winds will diminish and
the rain will stop as well over
the next several days.
The IMN is recommending
residents of the area to stay on
the alert and to take
precautions, especially in the
high risk areas, where there is
possibility of rivers
overflowing their banks and
possible floods and mudslides in
the mountainous areas.
UN Team To Assess Losses Caused
by Floods
A United Nations team is making
a two-day field visit to the
areas most affected by the
floods earlier this month that
left behind four deaths and
thousands homeless, the UN
Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs said
confirmed.
Representatives of the World
Health Organization (WHO),
through its bureau for the
Americas, the Pan American
Health Organization (PAHO), the
UN Development Programme (UNDP)
and the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF) are to visit the
worst-hit areas
Fiscalia Says Figueres Case
Still Open
The
Fiscalia (Prosecutor's office)
says that the Figueres case is
still open and that on the 28th
of December last, the
international police
organization, INTERPOL, notified
former president José María
Figueres Olsen, by mail, his
requested appearance before a
legislative commission.
Former president Figueres is
currently living in Switzerland
and has refused to return to
Costa Rica to appear before the
commission investigating his
role in the ICE-Alcatel, after
he admitted to having received
some us$906.000 dollars from
Alcatel by way of his former
presidential aide for consulting
work for the firm.
Figueres was president of Costa
Rica from 1994 to 1998 and says
the contract for the work came
years after he left office.
The Fiscalia's press office
informed that the case is still
pending and they haven't taken a
stronger position as the phase
investigation is still in the
collection of information.
Figueres is to formally appear
on February 3 of this year,
however, it is very unlikely
that he will make the date. The
failure to appear could see
formal charges brought against
him before the Ministerio
Público for " desobediencia a la
autoridad" - disobeying a court
order.
According to Guillermo Alvarado,
director of the DIS - the Costa
Rican secret police - the
INTERPOL office in Switzerland
informed him of the notification
to Figueres. Alavardo said that
INTERPOL has considered
notifying the former president
personally by sending an agent
to his home, but since the
request is not coming from a
court, they decided to use the
mail process instead.
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Cerro de la Muerte Freezes.
Coldest Ever in 30 Years
Costa Ricans are not
accustomed to freezing
temperatures. Many foreigners
who decided to make Costa Rica
their new home left the freezing
cold behind for the tropical
climate.
However, the strong cold winds
and rain of the past week has
left Costa Ricans with a taste
of what it is to live in a cold
climate. If the San José area
was cold at 11 to 14 degrees
Celsius (52 - 58 Fahrenheit), it
sure was a lot colder in the
higher elevations.
In El Cerro de La Muerte at an
elevation of 3.000 metres (9.800
feet), located in south of the
Central Valley and Cartago, on
route to the southern zone -in
the small hours of the night the
temperature dropped to 0 degrees
Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) or
freezing.
According to the Instituto
Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) the
official temperature this
morning between 3am and 5am was
4 Celsius or lower.
The good news is that today,
according to the IMN, is a
transition day. The temperatures
in the Central Valley should
return to normal in the next day
as the winds die down. The high
forecast for today, Friday, is
27 Celsius, a couple of degrees
from the normal high for this
time of year. The nights will
continue to remain cool.
The IMN also said that the cold
temperatures recorded this past
week is the coldest it has on
record in the last 30 years. A
warming thought for sure.
Illegal Fishing Wiped Out
The Cocos Island Preservation
Area is free of illegal fishing,
the Environmentalist Association
Mar Viva reported.
The announcement was ratified by
Minister of the Environment
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, who
pointed out the efforts in that
direction by Mar Viva and the
National Coast Guard Service.
"The fishermen have understood
the benefits of protecting the
Island in order to ensure a
permanent number of species, in
order to have sustainable and
responsible fishing," said Mar
Viva chief of operations
Francisco Estrada.
Vigilance in the area is likely
to increase even more, thanks to
the donation of a boat by the
Government of France, the
sources added.
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