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>>Costa Rica News Digest<<
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TODAY'S CONTENTS
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*News Digest

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NEWS DIGEST
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*8.500 In Shelters; 4 Deaths Confirmed

As water recedes, the real damage to the area can now be seen, as some 8.500

are being temporarily housed in 80 shelters and 4 deaths have been confirmed,

bodies those gone missing, pulled from the rivers by Red Cross and other

rescue workers.

The areas of Bribri, Sixaola and Talamanca are slowing getting aid as the

Comisión Nacional de Emergencia (CNE) is making it's way to the area where

road access is impossible.

The main roads connecting those communities to the rest of the country have

been completely washed away at different points, and between 12 and 25

bridges completely destroyed or damaged.

For almost 72 hours those living in those communities have been without fresh

water and food.

The government yesterday declared a national emergency, making it possible

for all government branches and agencies offering their resources to help out

those affected.

President, Abel Pacheco, personally visited the areas of Sarapiquí and

Siquirres, seeing first hand the damage caused by the rain and floods.

However, his trip was cut short with a demonstration by taxi drivers.

This is not the first time this area has been affected by floods. In November

2004 affected more than 2.000 persons when a heavy rain storm took the

southern zone of Limón by surprise.

Each year between October and March, the Caribbean zone is prone to flooding

and heavy rain that can continue for several days without letting up.

The Comisión Nacional de Emergencia (CNE) has plans in place to help out in

these cases, however, they still depend on donations of food and money to

bring help to residents of the area.

The good news is that the rain has stopped and the climate improving.

You can help those affected!
At the moment they are asking for donations of the following items:

- Fresh bottled water
- Milk (liquid and not powder)
- Rice and other canned foods
- Diapers
- Soap, toothpaste, tooth brushes
- Rubber boots
- Bleach, detergent and disinfectants
- Cooking utensils
- Blankets
- Clothing

You can also help by making a cash donation by depositing to the following

bank accounts in Costa Rica:

- Banco Nacional:
100-100-7

- Banco de Costa Rica:
176-003-03 (colones)

- Banco de Costa Rica:
204-6 (dólares)

- Banco Popular: 5000-8



*National Emergency Declared For Floods
Costa Rica's president, Abel Pacheco, yesterday declared a national emergency

for the Caribbean zone affected by the rain and floods of the last several

days.

President Pacheco will travel today to the zone for a first hand look at the

damage and suffering caused by the over boarding of rivers that has seen more

than 7.500 people evacuated from their homes and housed in 70 temporary

shelters.

Twelve bridges have been seriously damaged and roads washed away, separating

several communities from each other. The area of Sixaola, near the Panama

border, is completely inaccessible by road, boats and helicopters are being

used to get emergency relief to those stranded for more than 72 hours without

food or fresh water.

The national emergency decree frees up government funds to aid those affected

as well as place a priority on government agencies with personnel, machinery,

financial aid and anything they can spare to help out the situation.

The good news is that the rain has stopped and the flood waters are starting

to recede. Now the hard process of accessing damage and getting back to a

normal life can soon begin.

The flooding has damaged banana plantations but has not affected

coffee-growing areas.

Preliminary reports are calculating damages at between ¢7 and ¢9 billion

colones (us$15 and us$195 million dollars). Government, along with a score of

private companies are there to help those affected. One private company only

identified by it's program "amigos" was the first, before emergency crews, to

reach Sixaola with food and fresh water.


*148 Earthquakes Registered So Far This Month

January has been a moving month so far. The Red Sismológica Nacional UCR-ICE

has detected 148 earthquakes in the last eleven days, though the only ones

felt by were the 4.0 in Quepos on January 2, the 4.2 in Pérez Zeledón on

January 10 and the 4.2 in Alajuelita (San José) that same morning and the 4.5

in the Península de Osa registered yesterday.

Experts say that increase in the earth's movement is not related to the

climate change. Quake expert, Mario Fernández Arce, says that this is all

normal and is not related to weather changes, just a coincidence.

Most of the quakes are not felt other than by instruments at the

seismological institute and it's monitoring stations. Fernández is quick to

point out that in January of last year three quakes were felt and in April

2004, 951 quakes were registered but not felt.

Costa Rica is in a seismic active region with several tectonic plates

creating the movements: the placa del Coco, place del Caribe and the bloque

de Panamá.

Yesterday's movement had it's epicenter 48 kilometers southwest of Puerto

Cortés with a depth of 25 kilometers. The Ovsicori-UNA registered it at 4.5

at around 1pm.


*Prison Overpopulation Still A Problem

The Ministerio de Justicia (Justice Ministry) has been battling overcrowding

at the country's jail and when it though it had it almost under control, with

the addition of more than 1.000 beds, the situation had actually worsened.

Ministra de Justicia, Patricia Vega, released numbers that show that in the

12 penitentiaries across the country has seen a rise in inmates from 6.465 in

2003 to 7.619 in November of 2004.

Minister Vega had predicted an end to overpopulation, however, the sharp

increase in crime saw an increase of 1.154 or a jail and a half as the

Minister Vega put it, that has set records for the number of prisoners

currently in jail.

The Minister said that there is under construction space for 428 prisoners

with a plan for the 2005-2006 fiscal period for 2.364 more at a cost of

¢3.800 million colones (us$825.000 dollars).

The cost to house a prisoner in Costa Rica, according to the Ministerio de

Justicia figures is between ¢3.458 (us$7.5) and ¢4.380 (us$9.5) colones per

day. Figures released show that the most expensive prisoners to keep are

youths, who cost the about ¢18.210 ($39.50) per day per prisoner.

The higher cost to house the youths is the increase need for vigilance and

that they are given a different diet that the adult prisoners, like Corn

Flakes and chocolates, added Minister Vega to the report.


*Dream Holiday Turns to Nightmare

A German professor who went on a dream holiday to Costa Rica woke up in an

airport departure lounge to find his leg had been amputated. The professor

said he had gone to see a doctor at a hospital in San Jose because his left

foot was swollen.

He said: "An aspirin usually did the trick. I have had the problem before -

it was nothing serious - just something caused by my diabetes.

"When I got to the hospital they put me on a bed and I heard the word

amputate. I tried to protest, but before I knew it they had given me drugs to

black me out, and when I woke up I was at the departure lounge.

"My suitcases were by my side - and then I realized my leg was missing. I

couldn't move, and when I checked my wallet I found that £200 had been taken

out and replaced with a receipt for the amputation.

"It was like a bad dream and I could not believe what had happened."

Professor Ronald Jurisch, 50, from Dessau in Sachsen-Anhalt, said the holiday

was booked for him by friends for his birthday as the trip of a lifetime.

After the operation, Prof Jurisch collapsed and was taken to a private clinic

where he was diagnosed with blood poisoning.

He said it was four weeks until a special medically equipped plane took him

back to Germany where he underwent 23 more operations to try and repair the

damage from the amputation.

He is now seeking to take legal action against the hospital in San Jose.




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