by Rod Hughes

The rainy season has not spent its last bullet yet in a wetter than normal year, with several rivers overflowing in the Matina area of Limon Province and the National Emergency Committee declaring an emergency there.

Meanwhile, residents of the metropolitan area have remarked about cold weather, although “cold” is relative–a New Englander or former resident of Anchorage would call the weather balmy while a Miami resident might think it chill in the mornings and a tropical lowlander might feel frozen. With San Jose normally enjoying highs in the high 70s and low 90s (F), residents can easily become spoiled.

But cool breezes have the tendency to wring out the moisture-laden air and this is what has caused the trouble in the Matina area. To complicate the situation, Costa Rica’s topography is up and down an a few miles from a disaster area the residents may be enjoying gentle rains. In New England’s changeable climate, they say “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.” In Costa Rica, they say, “Go down the street,”

Nowhere else in Limon province reports such disastrous conditions but three swollen rivers have forced residents out of their homes and into temporary shelters in Matina. Some villages are isolated and reports speak of water to the roofs where some inhabitants have taken refuge. Other nearby towns have lost their electricity and drinking water.

The situation is worsened, as it was in September and October, by a tendency for people, especially the poor, to build their homes on the very edge of rivers. In the past, some poor rural folk without access to piped water, have used river water for their household needs, near rivers for a short haul of sloshing buckets, and the tradition continued even when the necessity faded away. Certainly many homes in the country exist overlooking rivers without danger, placed by careful planning comfortably above flood level.

While the flooding is confined to one area, the forecast is for continued rains in general for the whole Caribbean slope and northern zone this weekend, the Emergency Committee warned.