QCOSTARICA – Cold push number 14 hit Costa Rica’s Caribbean hard, leaving one person dead and flooding.
Given this circumstance, the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (CNE) – National Emergency Commission – issued an orange alert for the central canton of Limón, Matina and Talamanca, yellow for the rest of the Caribbean slope, Sarapiquí and the north, as well as green for the Central Valley and the North and Central Pacific.
“We have had an increase in adverse conditions, as well as an increase in rainfall, where there is an impact in some sectors. Given this, we have raised the alerts and work is being done to open a shelter in Davao de Batán,” said Alexánder Solís Delgado, president of the CNE.
It was precisely in the canton of Talamanca that the death of a 30-year-old woman was recorded, after a tree fell on a house in the community of Puerto Viejo de Cahuita.
The incident occurred Wednesday morning.
After a search of the site, it was ruled out that there was someone trapped, since a man, who apparently was also in that building, was located by phone.
The Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) reported that the victim was identified as Francien Kasrten, a Dutch national.
“Apparently around 4 am (Wednesday), a noise was heard and the local residents observed a tree above the house, for which they alerted the authorities,” said the OIJ press office.
In addition, several neighborhoods of Matina remained flooded.
Strong winds
In addition to Limon, strong wind gusts also hit the Central Valley areas of Alajuela, Cartago and San José.
“It is important to assess the environment of a home to take action when there are trees in poor condition, signs with deterioration or power lines in contact with a structure, only with a joint assessment can we avoid unfortunate situations such as Limón,” said Chaves.
Tuesday night, minutes before midnight, a house in San Antonio de Escazú suffered damage after a small tree was knocked down by the wind and fell on the roof.
Shelter Enabled
The CNE setup a preventive shelter in the community Matina. In addition, the operational structure was activated through the Emergency Operations Center (COE) and the municipal committees for surveillance and monitoring of conditions.
According to the report of the national weather service, the effect of cold push 14 will begin to diminish this Thursday, for which the authorities call on the population to be alert, especially if they live in risk areas.
Likewise, the CNE recommends that drivers be cautious on routes prone to landslides and navigators of small boats be careful in the Caribbean, North and Central Pacific due to rough seas.
