Heavy rains leave more than 300 in shelters; communities isolated

Heavy downpours have flooded many areas of San Carlos, in Costa Rica’s northern zone (CNE Photo)

June 22^nd, 2015 (InsideCostaRica.com) Heavy downpours that have continued since Saturday in the Caribbean and northern zones of Costa Rica have left more than 300 people in shelters and have caused multiple landslides that blocked highways and damaged bridges, leaving some communities unreachable.

Multiple rivers have also burst their banks and flooded entire communities in districts such as Puerto Viejo, La Virgen and Horquetas.  .

Costa Rica’s National Emergency Commission (CNE) has issued a “yellow” alert for the northern zone and Caribbean.

A total of 334 people were in five shelters as of noon on Monday.  Those in shelters are from 88 communities in Matina, Siquirres, Pococí, Sarapiqui (Heredia), San Carlos and Grecia.

A number of landslides and damaged bridges have also been reported by the CNE.  They include:

Route 32: Landslide near Braulio Carrillo

Route 140: Landslides between Bajos del Toro Amarillo and Venecia

Route 4: Rio Tigre (Tiger River) has overflown the roadway

CNE personnel are being mobilized to the most affected communities to provide humanitarian relief.

Rains are expected to continue Monday afternoon, according to the National Meteorological Institute.

Heavy rains in neighboring Nicaragua this month have claimed the lives of at least six people and damaged at least 7,000 homes.  Authorities in that country described the downpours as “historic.”