State of Emergency
Declared
With 18 people dead, one
still missing and
thousands in shelters,
Costa Rica has declared
a state of emergency due
to the heavy rains that
has caused flooding and
mudslides in just about
every part of the
country during the last
10 days.
And more rain is on the
way for the last couple
of weeks of October, the
worst month of the rainy
season which ends by the
middle of November.
Hardest hit are
communities in
Guanacaste, like
Filedelfia and Santa
Cruz to Liberia and the
Pacific central coastal
town of Parrita, between
Jacó and Quepos.
The Comisión Nacional de
Emergencias (CNE) -
national emergency
commission - said last
night that 96
communities are
affected.
In addition the rain has
caused damage to 54
routes and damaged 22
bridges. In Cartago, a
section of the
InterAmerican highway is
closed for the next two
weeks as work crews
repair the gaping break
in the road surface.
Only light vehicles are
permitted to use the
alternate route around
the repair, while buses
and heavy vehicles have
to wait out the repair.
This declaration
surpasses all the other
7 states of emergencies
caused by the heavy rain
during 2007. The total
estimate for the current
damages are more than
¢35 billion colones
alone, while the
accumulated damage of
the other emeregencies
were ¢25 billion colones.
The emergency takes in
all areas from the
Central Valley to the
North, Central and South
Pacific areas.
"The decision allows the
government to destine
resources to the
affected areas", said
Rodrio Arias, ministro
de la Presidencia.
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