Heavy Rains Wreak Havoc

HEAVY rains soaked the CentralValley relentlessly this week, wreakinghavoc on homes and infrastructure.The National Emergency Commission(CNE) reported it reacted to 54 incidentscaused by heavy rains in the greater metropolitanarea Tuesday. Homes flooded inmore than a dozen neighborhoods andsuburbs of San José, and route 225 to theCaribbean-slope town of Turrialba wasclosed after ongoing rains compromisedthe strength of the bridge over the OrienteRiver.Six families were moved to emergencyshelters as a preventive measureafter the Tiribí River in Tres Ríos, east ofSan José, undercut their patios.One family was moved to a church asan emergency shelter when the CangrejoRiver swelled and carried off the footbridgethat was the only means of reachingthe house. Emergency officials rescuedfive children who were trappedinside the house after the bridge wasswept away, the daily Al Dia reported.Sunday was the rainiest day of theyear to date, in San José, when 100.4 millimeters(four inches) fell on the capital,the National Meteorological Institute(IMN) reported.Storms claimed two boats anchoredoff Quepos, on the central Pacific coast,Sunday evening, reported Tico Timesfishing correspondent Jerry Ruhlow. Onewas the Flyfisher, which made news lastmonth when two tourists drowned after ahuge wave swept them off the boat intothe water (TT, May 13). The other was asmall outboard.The clouds cleared on Monday, but alow-pressure system over Hondurascaused additional heavy rainfall the rest ofthe week.