Gringo Malo wrote:
According to CNN, the US Military is sending rescue choppers from Honduras. No wonder us Americans are so hated all across the planet. As for sending emergency funds; that would require using the banking system and we all know that the last time government funds went to the banking system.....well lets say that they just didn't get to the intended destination.
This is neither a disagreement or agreement on your post but is a clarification.
The U.S. military helicopters being flown in from Honduras were
specifically requested by the government of Costa Rica. They have also been used in the past few months at the request of the Costa Rica and Panamanian governments to help with the rescue of victims of the floods in those countries.
From
Inside Costa Rica this morning.
Quote:
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 Ch*ldren 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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. Aerotour is a division of Robinson Helicopter, an American company. Aerobell says it is a 100% Costa Rican company but I have heard it is American owned.
