The second day of intense rainfall in Costa Rica leaves more than 600 sheltered and 2 missing. In this way, the President of the Republic, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, and the National Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Attention (CNE) made it known in their balance at 6:00 p.m. of this past friday.
“At this time, the latest report confirms the installation of 14 shelters with more than 600 people who are there sheltering against the phenomenon of rains. There are 35 cantons affected; the hardest hit are Talamanca, Limón, Matina, Turrialba and Sarapiquí” The President of the Republic mentioned in a statement provided by the press office. The shelters are distributed 8 in Sarapiquí, 2 in Turrialba and the others in Talamanca, Matina, Siquirres and Limón.
Later in another report given by the Emergency Commission, the loss of two citizens is detailed. However, at the time of publication, no details had been given regarding the people or their places of origin.
Coordinated relief
“The emergency teams in coordination with the Mayors, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) and other institutions, as well as the Red Cross, are in relief activities for these people and at the same time making the assessments of the damage of infrastructure, which are various in these areas,” added the notice.
Alvarado Quesada even announced that he will return to San José next Saturday, interrupting his tour of Guanacaste in commemoration of the 197th anniversary of the Annexation of the Nicoya Party, in which the president joined this Friday and in which he was initially expected to participate. until next July 25th.
“I will be moving to San José to give my respect to the deputy Rodolfo Peña Flores (who died this Friday morning due to complications associated with the novel Coronavirus) and his family and attending to the emergency with the National Emergency Commission,” the president explained.
Rains may continue
For his part, after the most recent session of the Emergency Operations Center, the Director of Risk Management, Sigifredo Pérez Fernández, called on the public to exercise caution in the face of the conditions that the country is going through. “For tonight and early morning tomorrow, with rainy conditions for the Caribbean and the Northern Zone, which could eventually have significant levels of precipitation,” he declared in reference to the forecasts given by the National Meteorological Institute (IMN).
In total, the Emergency Commission specified 706 attended events, 543 of these due to floods, 86 due to landslides, 64 due to inspection requests and 13 due to traffic problems. The entity also reported more than 50 flooded homes in Sarapiquí, Turrialba, Paraíso and Guatuso.
In addition to the above, the Costa Rican Red Cross reports 890 incidents attended by floods, 63 rescues of effective people and 113 evacuated people. For this, 89 paramedics were deployed throughout the country and 49 emergency vehicles.
Eight national highways have been affected:
Route 32 – Preventive closure in Pococí.
Route 10 – The passage is closed in Juan Viñas de Alvarado, as well as between Catalán and Chitaria.
Route 415 – Closed in Repasto de Turrialba.
Route 230 – Closed in Santa Cruz de Turrialba due to landslide.
Route 224 – Closed due to damage in Ujarrás de Paraíso.
Route 225 – Closed at various points between Cachí de Paraíso and La Suiza de Turrialba.
Route 36 – Closed in Bribrí de Talamanca.
Route 4 – Closed at the El Tigre bridge due to river overflow.
According to Pérez Fernández, the Ministry of Public Works works to rehabilitate the pass mainly in isolated communities. Similarly, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) seeks to restore service for 5,394 of its clients in the Caribbean.
The Fire Department, the Police Force, the National Coast Guard Service and the Border Police also participated in rescues of people in Limón, Cartago and Heredia. The supports include collaboration in the evacuation of people, as well as the clearing of roads on which trees fell.
