The country suffered the effects of Hurricane Julia, and as if that wasn’t enough, the National Meteorological Institute (IMN) alerted of a tropical wave.
“The intertropical convergence zone is positioned over the central and northern sector of our territory, which will cause heavy rainfall in the Pacific slope mainly during the afternoons of Monday and Tuesday,” the National Meteorological Institute informed.
In addition, Tropical wave 44 is expected to cross the national territory on Wednesday. This indicates that downpours typical of the season will intensify during the afternoon and evening in the South Pacific.
“Between Thursday and Sunday, an increase in atmospheric pressure is expected in the northern Caribbean Sea. Consequently, there will be a slight increase in winds over Guanacaste and to a lesser extent in the Central Valley; moderate gusts between 20 to 50 km/h are possible in the northern part of the territory,” added the Institute.
Costa Rica is still trying to recover from the damages of Julia. The National Emergency Commission (CNE) confirmed on Monday that 7 shelters with 236 people are still available, mainly in the central region.
Also, the Inter-American South route has been closed for 20 days after landslides in La Hortensia de Paramo, Perez Zeledon.
In Golfito, there are 500 families in 46 neighborhoods to whom daily supplies are distributed, as many are still pulling mud out of their houses and have lost almost everything.
According to Freiner Lara, mayor, there are still 62 people in two shelters. They have not been able to return to their homes, as they suffered severe damage due to the flooding of the Claro River, whose dam broke and flooded a large part of the farms and neighborhoods in the area.
On the other hand, the mayor of Osa said that 367 houses were affected. Approximately 20 were left unusable when the Térraba river flooded 20 blocks.
Machinery has been working in the communities to remove mud and debris to clear the roads. However, this has been a challenging job, as the rains have not ceased and continue to provoke land or mudslides.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock also revealed that there were also considerable losses in rice, corn, bananas, tubers, and poultry crops.
The situation is of great concern to the Costa Rican authorities as the rains continue, and so do the problems in the communities and public infrastructure. Many people have lost everything and require urgent solutions to get their lives back on track.
