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Costa Rica has experience a 6.2 earthquake near Poas Volcano
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Costa Rica’s president, Oscar Arias announced a national emergency and a red alert for areas of the Central Valley, Alajuela and Heredia since the earthquake last Thursday January 8th, 2009 of 6.2 degrees on the Richter scale.
The national emergency is due to areas affected by the earthquake and it was declared to expedite aid processes in addition to the solidarity with the people, the national mourning is for five days starting last Monday.
The affected areas are Varablanca, Cinchona, San Miguel de Sarapiqui, Carrizal, Poas National Park, Fraijanes, Cariblanco and Los Cartagos.
At this moment the most affected are regional tour companies, kayakers, rafters, guides, minibus drivers, and souvenirs sellers.
An inspection made by scientists at the Volcano logical and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica, in the field of Poas Volcano indicate that large areas of virgin and secondary forest were lost. The mountains around it reached the riverbed of Sarapiquí after the strong earthquake.
This area was green and continuing today it is all brown, surrounded by tons of fallen trees and dirt vanished. Surely this affects and destroys the flora and fauna and its surrounding in Poas area's, which was an attractive tourist place. The impact on wildlife and aquatic life must be studied to measure the immensity of the problem. This is a big problem for the protection of the environment and biodiversity. It should be noted that millions of crops including strawberries and plants export have been completely removed from the area.
Several towns and villages have suffered the impact and some were turned into ghost towns, where there was no trace of any house or anything an example of this is Cinchona, where relief workers in Colombia and the United States worked since Sunday in the collection of bodies and corpses.
In all, five bridges were destroyed, one was the river Maria Aguilar, en route to Vara Blanca; another in Cariblanco, a third of in the Netherlands of Toro, in Quebrada Seca, and the last on the river Manzate. All these are in the vicinity of the Poas Volcano in Alajuela.
The missing were at first 109 and this amount was reduced to 23. Many people who originally were missing were found by the Red Cross and are now in shelters with the National Emergency Commission (CNE).
According to the head of the Red Cross at this time the best that can happen is to find someone alive. Rescuers are also affected by heavy rains which softened the soil and mud loosened so that the search is unstable and slippery.
The National Emergency Commission said that last Thursday's earthquake left a total of 128,200 people affected and 26 stretches of roads were destroyed due to landslides. In conclusion more than 30 affected communities and to end more than 250 families with total losses of homes.
Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias made the request to Congress for a procedure of a loan for 65 million dollars to the World Bank and money for the prevention of emergencies through infrastructure, including roads. The first numbers are handled in damages brought an expense of $ 100 million. President Oscar Arias will also seek a breakthrough to the Inter-American Development Bank (BID) for 850 million dollars.
The measure requires that all the country flags are at half mast and to suspend all activities for these festive dates. Examples of activities are the famous Palmares Parties, with the top horse, bars, music and entertainment also suspended the arrival of former Formula One driver Michael Schumacher, to implement road education and alert the population of care in the roads.
Daniela Unfried
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