The heavy rains this Friday which have mainly affected the areas of Cartago and Limon forced the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) to activate its emergency protocols at the hydroelectric plans of Cachi, Angostura and Reventazon.

“As part of the actions, the three hydroelectric plants are undergoing a process of controlled spill to regulate the level of the reservoirs. We do not have any reports on issues with the structures of the plants and the excess spills are working properly.

We are maintaining permanent communication with the local emergency committees of the communities in the areas close to the plants with the purpose of activating the protocols established by the National Emergency Commission (CNE) in the event of an increase in the river flow”.

ICE also informed they are working on reestablishing the electricity service to several communities affected in the counties of Turrialba in Cartago and Talamanca in Limon, however, the current weather conditions are complicating the works.

Route 32 (Limon-San Jose) remains closed in the area close to Rio Sucio due to landslides, CNE reports there are currently three cars trapped in this area.

In addition to Limon and Turrialba, other counties such as San Carlos have reported strong and constant rain since the early hours of Friday through midnight.