Costa Rica earthquake: the heart-wrenching aftermath

It has been five days since a devastating earthquake struck Costa Rica, and there are people outside the country who have yet to make contact with family and friends.

Leland Baxter-Neal, a reporter with Costa Rica's English-language newspaper, the Tico Times, has been reading comments on Outposts and this morning sent me a note that might be of interest to those still trying to locate loved ones, and to those who have developed close relationships with residents of the beautiful Central American nation.

From Leland:

I've been covering this disaster for The Tico Times since it struck last Thursday and was in the area walking through some of the damaged towns (Fraijanes and Poasito) and talking with evacuees and officials at a shelter/tent camp/rescue command post. Perhaps I can help your readers get a better idea of what happened, and what is happening.

First off, to all the readers that are worried about friends and family traveling, studying or living down here in Costa Rica: there is a 99% chance they are fine. If they were in any part of the country except for a small radius near the Poas Volcano, they did not feel much more than a startling shake, if even that.

The only tourist area that was affected was the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, and the Peace Lodge Hotel, which are right next to each other. I spoke with the manager of that hotel today who said the worst injury was a woman with a broken ankle. He said there were no deaths at the hotel or in the gardens.

The Tico Times spoke with the U.S. Embassy Monday evening and they had no reports of missing U.S. citizens or the deaths of U.S. citizens. The overwhelming chances are your loved ones are fine, and do not even know you are concerned.

The locals have not been as lucky. The official death toll at last count was 17. Another 20 are missing. There are some truly sad stories, and this nation sees this as a very serious tragedy. The president has declared a national emergency, and a period of national mourning. Festivals have been canceled and flags are flying at half mast.

Rescue teams are digging through landslides as I write this, searching for bodies. Thousands are sleeping in tent camps, schools or churches. Hundreds of houses have been totally destroyed.

In Poasito, several of the houses I visited were total losses. The area is mountainous and steep, and many of the communities are low in valleys or high on bluffs, and the earth is now filled with faults and could come tumbling down disastrously with a much smaller tremor, which are common in this country. Just last night there were two tremors, one measuring 2.8 and the other 4.3, in the affected area. We're unsure still if these have caused further damage.

The government yesterday pegged the economic damage at $100 million, a steep figure for such a tiny country. The infrastructure losses are serious, with bridges and entire stretches of highways gone. One of the country's more important hydroelectric power plants is out of service.

The bright spot, however, has been outpouring of help. Stacks of clothing, food, pet food, medicine and supplies have been piling up at businesses and emergency centers across the country. Costa Ricans pride themselves on their solidarity with the less fortunate, and have proven it in the last several days.

More help is needed, because the recovery is just beginning. I encourage your readers to check our website, www.ticotimes.net for regular news updates and information on how to help.

Saludos,

Leland Baxter-Neal

Photo (top): Damaged homes in the Posito community. Credit: Ronald Reyes. To see more of his earthquake photos check his blog. Photo (inset): A Costa Rican beach before the quake. Credit: Susan Spano / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[53north]

There are 2 eclipses in the next month. If you believe in gravity, then chances are more tremors are on the way in the short term.

[Mary Jane Towle]

Any word on Poas Volcano Lodge? We are scheduled to arrive in San Jose on January 25 and have reservations for January 25 and 26 at Poas Volcano Lodge. We have not been able to find any information as to whether they are still able to accept guests and if the roads are passable. We sent an email but have not heard received a reply.

Thanks,
Mary Jane
Minnesota

[Janice]

Re: Heart Wrenching Aftermath

I am from Toronto Canada and have a 23 year old daughter backpacking in Costa Rica, she and her travelling companion were in Jaco when the earthquake hit last Thursday, they are fine.

However the emotions I felt last Thursday afternoon are still very fresh in my mind. Thank you for your words of encouragement in your article dated January 13th, 2009 at 10:24 a.m., Heart-wrenching aftermath.

So true when you say "overwhelming chance your loved ones are fine, and don't even know that you are concerned". That was the case with us....although we were lucky and only waited four hours to hear any news, those hours indeed seemed like a lifetime...
Jan

[Amanda]

I have been to Costa Rica twice and have fallen in love with this country and it's people. My husband and I were fortunate enough to stay at the Peace Lodge in May '08 and we visited Poas volcano, both breathtakingly beautiful places. I was so happy to read on the La Paz Waterfall Gardens web site that the worst injury there was a broken ankle. I can only imagine that the beautiful grounds there were hit much harder. My thoughts and prayers are with those in Costa Rica.

[Alex]

We were in Costa Rica last Thursday when the earthquake hit. We had been staying near the Volcano Poas on Tuesday and Wednesday and moved north on Weds. The B&B we were staying at which was just to the south of the volcano wasn´t affected by the earthquake (they felt it but nothing was damaged), but I believe that roads around the volcano have been closed to allow for rescue and rebuilding. Those to the east of the volcano (on the way to La Paz Waterfalls which were badly affected) have definitely been closed.

If ýou haven´t heard from the lodge when you arrive, call at the tourist info desk at the airport and ask them. If they tell you that it´s been closed they´ll be able to help you with alternative B&B in the area (it´s fairly quiet at the moment and we had no problem finding accomodation as we hadn´t booked anything before we left).

There were no problems with the rest of the country which remains as beautiful and friendly as ever!

[Cindy]

mary Jane,

I was at the waterfalls when the quake hit and was one of the many who spent the night on the mountain. 3 in our party were injured (we were on the waterfall path for the quake and had to hike back up to the top over landslides, broken sewer lines etc.)

I seriously doubt that the lodge will be open for quite a while. Not only was the place a shambles, there is a 1 foot wide gap between the lodge entrance door (presumably where the foundation starts) and the driveway up to it. I did not do much in the way of surveying other damage but it wouldn't surprise me if there is structural damage to the building as well...not just broken glass and roof tiles everywhere. The roads were destroyed. They are no longer passable. The entire area is full of long deep cracks and it feels really unstable.