Weather Lets Up, Stops Raining
in the Atlantic
Though the relief work continues
in the areas of the Atlantic
zone most affected by the rain
and floods of the past two
weeks, the Comisión Nacional de
Prevención de Riesgos y Atención
de Emergencias (CNE) has reduced
the alert for the area as the
weather improves and water
levels are starting to return to
normal.
The Instituto Meteorológico
Nacional (IMN) says that as of
mid-day Saturday the cold front
that has been experienced
throughout Costa Rica is over
and normal seasonal temperatures
are slowing coming back.
The absence of rain in the
Sixaola-Talamanca region,
located in the Southeastern part
of the country, next to the
Panama border, is bringing hope
to thousands who had to leave
their homes for shelters and
maybe, just maybe, the rain will
stay away and they can get back
to re-building their lives.
The number of affected in
shelters was reduced greatly,
from over to 2.000 a couple of
days ago to just under 1.000
last night. The sunshine began
to dry up the area, the rivers
that overflowed their banks are
settling back to normal levels.
The Ministro de Vivienda y
Asentamientos Humanos pledged
˘1.000 million colones to help
the affected families to rebuild
or repair their homes. The CNE
continues to deliver food and
other necessities. As of
yesterday, more than 23.000 food
rations were delivered to those
in need. The CNE says that 8.000
rations were from donations,
while the other 15.000 was
purchased from donations that
poured in from all over the
country and the world.
Summer Is Official Now, Says the
Weatherman
The cold front that has set
record low temperatures in the
Central Valley and brought rain
and floods in the Caribbean is
officially over, according to
the weatherman.
The Instituto Meteorológico
Nacional (IMN) made the
announcement shortly after mid
noon yesterday, as the climatic
conditions changed drastically.
Most of the Central Valley was
basked with sunshine yesterday,
no strong winds and no coats and
jackets. This morning at 6:00am,
San José woke to sunshine, light
winds and warmth in the air,
replacing the dark skies and
cold winds of the past two
weeks.
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Tico
Coffee Tasters Acknowledged
In a new step towards the consolidation in the sales of gourmet Costa Rican
coffee abroad, the country now has 15 expert tasters whose top quality is
internationally acknowledged.
This progress will enable world roasters to
fully trust the recommendations of the Costa Rican experts, which will in
turn result in better sales abroad for one of this country's economic
mainstays.
Currently, Costa Rica exports some 40 percent of its crop at
price that average 50 percent over the quotes a the New York Stock Exchange,
according to Juan Moya, chief executive of the Costa Rica Coffee Institute.
He added that the goal is for 60 percent of the crop to get differentiated
prices, based on quality, in a 5-year term.
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