The cold front that has been affecting Costa Rica since Saturday night has left damage in its wake, from people who have tragically lost their lives, to others who have suffered injuries as a result of fallen trees and material damages. Many houses have had their roofs blown off by the strong winds, streets had to be closed due to mudslides and fallen trees; in total the National Emergency Commission (CNE) had a total of 332 incidents reported as of noon this Monday, while the electricity companies were struggling to reestablish the service to thousands of people that since yesterday have no electric service at their homes and/or businesses.

The Costa Rica Electricity Institute (ICE), confirmed 137,608 clients affected. The service was already reestablished for 90,547 users; they had 78 utility poles that suffered damages and a total of 597 technicians working on the re-connection of services.

On the other hand, the National Company of Electricity and Power (CNFL which is part of GrupoICE but maintains a separate client base) reported more than 35,000 users affected, mostly in the areas of San Ramon de Tres Rios; Coronado; Guadalupe; Ciudad Colón, and Santo Domingo de Heredia. In their last report disclosed at 5:20 p.m. this Monday, they confirmed the had managed to restablish 31,500 services. The CNFL has 150 workers handling the emergency and they have repaired 16 out of 43 utility posts (30 of them broken and 13 fallen).

Clients from several communities in San Jose (Tres Rios, Coronado, Guadalupe and Santa Ana) and Heredia don’t have electricity since early Sunday morning, going now on more than 36 hours.

Both the CNFL and ICE have informed that they will continue to work until all the services are back up, however, the time it takes to reestablish a connection depends on the magnitude of the damage in each sector.

The strong winds will continue to affect the country until the evening of this Tuesday.