With the peak of the rainy season approaching, meteorologists are expectingnormal – as in really wet – conditions to prevail.
Rains will intensify for the rest of September and October, with conditions particularly wet along the PacificCoast and in the Central Valley with a reduction in rain for the North and Atlantic regions, according to Rebeca Morera, meteorologist for the National Meteorological Institute.
The computer models see particularly strong rains in Central Pacific region in the month of November and normal conditions in the rest of the country before rains begin to taper off for the end of the rainy season in December.
Flooding in low-lying areas, especially in the central Pacific, is the norm during the month of October, and emergency officials have been preparing themselves for the worst.
In addition to shoring up shelters and storehouses, the National Emergency Commission has been made sizable investments in several areas, according to Rebeca Madrigal, spokeswoman for the commission.
The commission has invested ¢25 billion (about $45 million) in cleaning rivers of sediment blockages that enhance flooding, building retaining walls, dikes and new housing for people in vulnerable areas.
About ¢4 billion ($7.3 million) has been spent on the reconditioning of roads, said Madrigal.
–John McPhaul
