A fire at the ICE Telephone Company building in Limon on Tuesday night left thousands of Caribbean residents without phone, internet and cellular services.  ICE said services were restored by 3pm Wednesday but some reported continuing problems after this.

The fire took out landline, internet and users on the old cellular network. While the GSM cellular network was not affected it was overburdened and often not available either.

The agency flew in new equipment and worked first on restoring 9-1-1 emergency services.

More: Tico Times: Telecommunication blackout paralyzes Limón, La Nación: Incendio en agencia colapsó telecomunicaciones en Limón

The earthquake was reported to be of magnitude 6.1 on the Richter scale and the epicenter was 30km southwest of Quepos in the Pacific Ocean.

While the earthquake was felt in many places in Costa Rica including the Caribbean Coast there are no reports of injuries or significant damage.

More: La Nación: ‘Ojalá todos estén bien’, dice Laura Chinchilla tras sismo de 6,1 grados

Costa Rica is by no means exempt from quakes, with a number of fault lines criss-crossing the country and a history of earthquakes. Although as the experience in Chile has shown, a country with experience dealing with earthquakes is likely to fare much better than one where it is a rare event.

The Caribbean Coast could be particularly vulnerable. Not because it is on a particular fault line but because the connections to the rest of Costa Rica are so tenuous. There are many bridges to fail that could cut the South Caribbean off from Limon and the rest of the country, leaving residents and tourists trapped here and needing to provide for themselves possibly for many days.  The coastal location also means that Tsunami are a threat.

In April 1991, a massive earthquake struck Costa Rica and Steve Casimiro who was in Puerto Viejo at the time has just written a haunting and very informative first person account of the quake and surviving the days after at The Adventure Life.

There are many informative guides online about what one should do to survive an earthquake such as this one at Geology.com.  And it starts with being prepared now. Having basic supplies on hand and knowing what to do when the quake hits.

So many in the local community have been profoundly touched by the pictures coming out of Port-au-Prince, knowing that it could’ve just as easily been San Jose or some other part of Costa Rica.

The department of immigration puts the official Haitian population of Costa Rica at only 215 residents but the actual number is probably much higher. Many of them work as mobile vendors in San José.  Those interviewed on Teletica last night were anxiously waiting news from home as to whether their families were okay.

A number of local businesses we spoke to have already sent donations:

• Puerto Viejo Satellite $100
• Gecko Trail Adventures $200

Donations within Costa Rica can be sent to the Banco de Costa Rica or Banco Nacional accounts set up for this. International organizations which are collecting donations include Doctors without Borders who have worked extensively in Haiti for many years (Their US, Canadian and other national offices all accept online donations) and and the International Red Cross.

The victims were identified as Humberto Traña Medrano and Guillermo Quesada.   They were apparently best friends who worked together at a local restaurant and played on a soccer team together.

They were leaving work to return home and change clothes when they came around a corner and encountered a slow moving vehicle. In trying to avoid hitting the vehicle they hit the post instead. According to the Red Cross, they were both instantly killed.

The accident happened 200 meters south of the entrance of town, in front of Abastecedor El Cruce.

More: La Nación: Motociclistas mueren al chocar contra un poste

Cocles Beach is the only lifeguard patrolled beach on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, a venture paid for by local hotels and businesses.

Yet witnesses to the drowning yesterday said that while onlookers tried to resuscitate the victim, the guard continued working on craft projects in his tower and did not attempt to help.

Local surf conditions can be rather unpredictable, especially for tourists used to much calmer waters. This incident is another reminder to follow water safety rules.

The Talamanca News would welcome more information and comments on this incident, especially from those who may have witnessed it first hand.

Update: Further information was supplied by Eddie Ryan of La Costa de Papito hotel, which has been one of the steadfast supporters of the lifeguard program from the beginning.  Ryan sadly confirmed that indeed a man died on Thursday on Cocles beach. But that essentially he did not drown but after eating a heavy lunch and drinking a few beers shortly before, either choked on the food or had a heart attack. He was in waist deep water and never screamed or made any gestures to indicate distress. His wife was seated on the beach near the shoreline and didn’t see what happened. Someone noticed he was floating and the lifeguard and a few other people dragged him out of the water and the lifeguard tried to resuscitate him to no avail.

Ryan said that while he was not there during the incident, he talked with different people about what had happened when he got to the beach.

Ryan also noted that the lifeguard program is operating at half speed for the last two weeks with only one lifeguard on duty instead of two because of insufficient funds. This will continue for at least 4 more weeks taking us into times of rough seas and dangerous currents compared with the flat sea conditions recently. With one lifeguard on duty only prevention service with flags and a whistle is offered because it is necessary to have two lifeguards on duty to safely perform a rescue.

If you would like to make a donation towards supporting the lifeguard service, you can do so using a credit card on the Puerto Viejo Satellite donation page.  Puerto Viejo Satellite will cover the credit card processing costs so that 100% of your donation will get to the program.  Local business owners who do not already support the program are encouraged to pledge ongoing support and can contact Eddie Ryan at La Costa de Papito.

Traffic has grown at a very fast rate ever since the website has launched and the website is bigger and better than ever with:

• More listings than ever
• More features than ever like the recently added restaurant page or the listing detail pages (see this one for example)
• More complete information than ever – additional transport options for example added to the transport page as we find out about them

The area has also benefited from the marketing savvy of the owner one of the newer hotels in town, Banana Azul.  Banana Azul was recently even mentioned on the Today show as a affordable vacation spot in these recessionary times. As more people find Banana Azul, they also discover the whole area as they discover the place that is a good fit for them or visit local restaurants and tour providers.

The growing tour company Gecko Trail Adventures has also contributed. Their Costa Rica tour packages have a strong emphasis on the Caribbean coast and so many people discover this area even if they don’t know Manzanillo from Montezuma.

All in all, we see great things ahead!

While the communities of Puerto Viejo, Cahuita, Cocles and Punta Uva are mostly getting back to normal after the flooding, the upland communities where tourists rarely go remain severely affected. This includes the town of Sixaola on the Panama border so the land crossing to Panama (a frequent route for travelers is Puerto Viejo to Bocas, Panama) remains closed for now.

The emergency commission (CNE) is estimating some 42 billion colones (77 million US$) in damages to highways, streets, agricultural crops, damaged wells and aqueducts, clinics and schools.   The impact beyond this to individual homeowners and in lost business will increase this amount greatly.

CNE also estimates some 46,000 persons affected by the flooding including 5.497 who remain in shelters, unable to return to their homes.  They are also reporting that although the water has receded in most places there remain 35 communities whose access to the outside world is cut off by the flooding.

Help is still sought as well. The Cruz Roja is mounting a national campaign and locally the relief effort is being coordinated by ATEC which has setup pickup points locally where donations of food, water, clothing, money, medicine, tools, toys, holiday gifts, and cash.  Puerto Viejo Satellite and the Talamanca News are helping out by processing credit card donations for people so that people can help from whereever they are. We will cover all credit card fees so 100% of your donation will go to the relief effort.

More:

• La Nacion: CNE estima las pérdidas por lluvias en ¢42.000 millones
• Teletica (video): Lluvias generan millonarias pérdidas en Limón

Construction crews worked all day today and a temporary crossing, suitable for all but buses and large trucks, is now open where the damaged bridge was on Playa Negra.

Construction crews finishing temporary crossing where the bridge at Playa Negra into Puerto Viejo had washed out.

This family cannot return to their house in Celia, Talamanca so they wait for help. Photo by Martin Caraval, courtesy of La Nacion.

The community of Yorkin in Alta-Talamanca lost its bridge, its lodge, its water and septic systems and needs help rebuilding. Many other communities are also suffering.

ReciCaribe’s truck will bring up donated items this week and again as long as we keep getting donations—they lost their crops they will need help for a long time.

Look for a donations box at the following supermarkets (soon to be more) or bring donations to the following places listed below.

• Pulperia La Violeta, Playa Negra
• Super Buen Precio, Puerto Viejo
• Super Pirrilpli, Cocles
• Duende Gourment, Playa Chiquita

or to:

• ATEC in Puerto Viejo 2750 0191
• Aguas Claras in Playa Chiquita 2750 0131
• The Mariposario in Cahuita, contact Leda 2755 0108 or 8844 8032
• ANAI in Hone Creek 2756 8021
• ANAI in San Jose, contact Diego 2224 3570 or diego@anaicr.org

100% of cash donations will be given to flood victims will be completely transparent and will be posted on here on the Talamanca News and on Greencoast.com.

Credit card donations can be made at www.puertoviejosatellite.com/donate.php. Puerto Viejo Satellite will cover the credit card fees so that 100% of your donation will be forwarded to help out.

You can also make a donation through Banco Nacional so no fees are paid. Please see account details on Greencoast.com.

Please consider at this time of giving thanks, that we have our health and safety, and that we are thankful that we are able to be generous to our neighbors.

Please contact ATEC with ideas, questions, help, or concerns:+506 2750 0398 or atecmail@gmail.com