Central America: Severe Rains, Flooding Affect Four World Vision Project Areas in Costa Rica
October 25, 2007
Please note: If a sponsored child is directly affected by a crisis or disaster, it is World Vision's policy to notify that child's sponsor as soon as possible.
Rescuers look for bodies on Oct. 11 after a mudslide in Atenas, 40 miles northwest of Costa Rica's capital of San Jose. Three people died and several others are missing after a hillside collapsed here following days of heavy rains, authorities said. REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate (COSTA RICA)
Overflowing rivers have inundated scores of communities, damaging and destroying homes, roads, and bridges. Deadly landslides have resulted in collapsing hillsides saturated by the heavy rains. An estimated 12,000 Costa Rican residents have been directly affected by the widespread disaster.
World Vision Program Areas Affected
Flooding has affected four World Vision program areas. However, this is preliminary information, our staff reports, since a number of communities remain unreachable due to damaged roads. This has prevented aid workers from completing comprehensive needs assessments in the affected areas.
Storm Damages
Following two weeks of rains and flooding in Costa Rica:
- Nearly 2,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed.
- Some 2,150 people have been forced into 49 temporary shelters.
- Damaged roads have cut off more than 3,100 people.
- At least 18 people have died in landslides.
- Two national highways and 35 bridges have been damaged.
Assistance for Families in Need
In the meantime, World Vision is responding to the crisis, coordinating with Costa Rica's National Emergency Commission and local committees to provide displaced residents in temporary shelters with hygiene products, food, and clothing.
We also are providing psychological support to affected children, who are most vulnerable to emotional trauma during times of crisis.
According to national weather experts, ongoing low-pressure systems and the influence of a tropical storm in the Caribbean have caused Costa Rica's fortnight of heavy rains.
Learn More
>> Read a Reuters account of the recent torrential rains across Central America.
Two Ways You Can Help
>> Pray for the rains to stop across Costa Rica and Central America. Pray also for those affected by the flooding and mudslides, particularly families and children in isolated communities who urgently need help, as well as aid workers laboring tirelessly to provide such assistance.
>> Donate now to World Vision's Disaster Response Fund. This one-time donation enables World Vision to continue to deliver desperately needed aid to families and children affected by sudden-onset disasters.
Learn More | ||
 | | |
| Read a Reuters account of the recent torrential rains across Central America. | |
| | |
Two Ways You Can Help | ||
| | |
| Pray for the rains to stop across Costa Rica and Central America. Pray also for those affected by the flooding and mudslides, particularly families and children in isolated communities who urgently need help, as well as aid workers laboring tirelessly to provide such assistance. Donate now to World Vision's Disaster Response Fund. This one-time donation enables World Vision to continue to deliver desperately needed aid to families and children affected by sudden-onset disasters. | |
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