“In honor to our victims, long live Costa Rica”. With these words, president Luis Guillermo Solís, along with a trumpeter and a drummer from the Fire Department who played the “Touch of Silence”, the three days of national mourning, to honor the 10 people who died due to hurricane Otto, started.
Mario Calderón, director of the Traffic Police, ordered the staff from the Air Surveillance Service, to raise the national flag at half-mast in all institutions.
The mourning decree implies that the flags must be at half mast in all public institutions and festive activities can’t be carried out.
Iván Brenes, president of the National Emergency Commission (CNE), said that 449 communities are still having problems related to road infrastructure. In addition, there are 5,362 people in 42 shelters.
Since the beginning of the emergency, the CNE has invested 610 million colones in humanitarian assistance, such as supplying, activating credits and roads restorations.
Brenes insisted that only those people who are conducting specific tasks in Upala should remain in the area because “if we all go, those tasks get difficult.”
It is important to avoid going to the area if it is not necessary and those people who want to donate something, can do so through the Costa Rican Red Cross and the Post Office.
Additional data:
All shelters are under the supervision of the Ministry of Health.
According to Rosendo Pujol, Minister of Housing, four teams are evaluating houses conditions.
Forty-three communities remain with access problems, which difficult authorities’ operations. Among these communities, there are Upala, Golfito and Turrialba.