Strong rains and storm surge caused more than 30 major landslides in Costa Rica earlier this week. Red Cross rescue units and first responders from Fuerza Publica, the national police force, sprung to action to safely evacuate and render aid to more than 2,000 people in affected communities. The majority of those rescued have been motorists driving on Route 32, the main highway connecting the Caribbean city of Limon with the Greater San Jose Metropolian Area (Spanish initials: GAM). As of Saturday afternoon, Route 32 was still closed as rainstorms loomed in the horizon.

 

The initial landslides took place around 6:00 pm on Thursday. By that time, strong rains had already pelted and soaked the Caribbean region of Costa Rica from Limon to Guapiles and all the way to the Central Valley. In an interview with news daily La Prensa Libre, the emergency chief of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (Spanish initials: GAM) explained that rescue operations were non-stop:

 

From Thursday night until three in the morning on Friday; it was a titanic rescue, and we managed to evacuate 2,500 people and 300 vehicles who took an alternate route through Guapiles after we closed [Route 32] down. It was a complicated rescue due to the stormy conditions and the sketchy terrain. Fortunately, and thanks to the response of emergency management personnel, we had an excellent system going.

 

No loss of life or major injuries have been reported. MOPT crews have removed tons of mud, rocks and fallen trees since Thursday night, but plenty of work still remains from marker KM36 to KM51. It is very likely that Route 32 will remain closed through the weekend, particularly since MOPT crews are dealing with cold temperatures, heavy fog and torrential rail. The National Institute of Meteorology is forecasting even more rain in Costa Rica over the next two days, particularly in the GAM during the afternoon and evening hours and well into the night.