Friday 09 January 2009, San José, Costa
Rica
13 Dead, Many More
Missing In Afternoon 6.2
Earthquake
40 Seconds of
Terror
Tourism Minister Assures
Safety of Visitors
Trapped In Earthquake
Zone
Panic in San José
San Jose Airport
Open
Gallery of Fotos
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13 Dead, Many More
Missing In Afternoon 6.2
Earthquake
In what is being called
the worst earthquake in
the are in the last 150
years has claimed the
lives of 13 people, a
number of them children
trapped under the mud
and earth from the
tremors, and dozens more
reported missing.
Two girls -- a seven
year old and a nine year
old -- died after the
landslide destroyed
their home in Fraijanes,
the Cruz Roja (Red
Cross) reported.
The early afternoon
quake that registered
6.2 on the Richter
Scale, with an epicentre
some 10 Km east of the
Volcán Poás, in
Alajuela, east of San
José, caused a great of
damage to may homes in
the area of Vara Blanca
to Sarapiqui, taking
complete sections of the
road that communicates
many communities and
trapping hundreds,
including tourists of
the area's natural
waterfalls.
The Comisión Nacional de
Emergencias (CNE) -
national emergency
commission - reported at
least 1.000 people were
trapped in area that no
longer had road access,
the roadway being
completed wiped out by
landslides and tremors,
and the only access to
them would be by
helicopters.
A call was made to all
private helicopters
operators to help out in
the recovery of the
trapped. CNE president,
Daniel Gallardo, said
that a call was also
made to the US for help
with their helicopters
based in Honduras.
However, due to the size
there is the problem of
the big helicopters
being useful in the
rescue as the may not be
able to land in the
mountainous terrain of
the area.
The worst of the areas
hit is near Vara Blanca.
The area is at the top
of the northern mountain
range looking down on
the cities of Alajuela
and Heredia. The road
network through the area
connects the Central
Valley to the Sarapiqui,
Puerto Viejo (Heredia)
and used also to access
Guapiles.
The area is also
frequented by tourists
who take in the natural
beauty of the area and
includes the La Paz
waterfalls.
Victor Gonzalez, of the
Obvservatorio
Vulcanológico y
Sismológico de Costa
Rica, said that the
tremor is not tied to
the volcano. "This
earthquake is not
associated with any
volcanic activities but
with the existing
tectonic faults", he
said.
Telluric shakes were
felt in areas of
Nicaragua, most of them
in the Pacific Ocean,
registering up to 4.5
degrees of intensity.
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