Red Alert issued as severe flooding and landslides targets Costa Rica

The president of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis declared an emergency on Saturday and declared a RED ALERT as heavy rainfall continued to flood the entire province of Limon and the cantons of Turrialba and Sarapiqui. 

 

President Solis said that emergency personnel had been activated.

 

Route 32, the main highway between San Jose and Limon, is blocked at kilometer 25 after a landslide blocked the roadway with some 4,000 cubic meters of material.

 

Official reports said that the Reventazon and Pacuare rivers have overflown, blocking the passage to El Impero in the canton of Siquirres.

 

The Parismina River has also broken its banks and the El Carmen River has overflown, flooding residents in an area known as la Pajarera.

 

In Turrialba, at least eleven people have been put into a shelter established at the local community center.

 

In the communities of Caño San Jose, Nogales and Colono in Sarapiqui, 144 people have been moved to shelters due to flooding.

 

A fiber optic line has also been damaged that is cut off both cellular and landline telephone service throughout Sarapiqui.

Courtesy of insidecostarica.com

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