To speed up access to resources for repairing the damage caused by the heavy rains of the last week, the Government of the Republic is considering decreeing an emergency due to the passage of cyclone Eta.
President Carlos Alvarado announced that the National Emergency Commission (CNE) is preparing the respective analyzes and studies so that its Board of Directors may soon discuss this possibility.
An eventual declaration of emergency would allow the entity to access specific resources and make hiring processes more expeditious, explained its executive president, Alexander Solís. “The impact does warrant that we have a much more agile instrument to be able to resolve the great urgencies,” said the official in a press release.
The President of the Republic announced the preparation of the decree once an inspection of Coto Brus, Corredores and Golfito was concluded; three of the cantons most affected by heavy rainfall. Without specifying a date, Alvarado affirmed that “in the next few days the National Emergency Commission, based on the analysis and specific studies, will be learning about the issue in its Board of Directors and an emergency executive decree will be issued.”
The inspection was attended by the President accompanied by the ministers of Public Works and Transport, Rodolfo Méndez, and of Economy, Industry and Commerce, Victoria Hernández, as well as the executive director of the National Highway Council (Conavi), Mario Rodríguez.
The Presidential office indicated that the deputies of the National Liberation Party (PLN, opposition), Gustavo Viales and Wágner Jiménez, as well as mayors of Corredores, Carlos Viales, Golfito, Frainier Lara, and Coto Brus, Steven Barrantes, also participated in the Eta damage assessment.
Devastation in all the Region
Eta, which hit the region five days ago as a category four storm, caused the death of two Costa Ricans and forced the evacuation of another 2,000 in Puntarenas, Guanacaste, and San José. In addition, it caused damage in 60 of the 82 cantons of the country and kept 27 communities isolated.
Since November 7th, the National Meteorological Institute (IMN) reported the cessation of the indirect influence of the cyclone, as it moved towards Florida, United States. Even so, the Emergency Commission maintains the alert states throughout the country, since there is a risk of landslides due to saturation of the soils derived from five consecutive days of rainfall in almost the entire territory.
This type of event caused damages ranging between ¢ 5,000 and ¢ 6,000 million only in the national road network. At the moment there is no calculation of the impact on other types of structures.
