Finally, the days are normal again. Mornings are nice, sunny and afternoons or evenings the rain showers come. Those of you, not in Costa Rica, who read Costa Rica blogs have probably gotten tired of hearing about the rain. Well, true it is the rainy season, and most of it is not too bad. We living here learn to do our running around early in the day, and can set back and relax while the rain comes rolling in. It is amazing to see it come. Sometimes, it is like a wall of water one can see in the distance. Usually, those are the extremely hard rains.
I have been spending much of my time, while it rains, either reading or on the computer. So you will probably see the sites I have been visiting or the blogs I find by what I add to my list, from time to time.
This time, I have been subscribing to, and downloading programs on iTunes. I found that I could see the evening news (ABC, CBS, or NBC) each day this way. It is nice to be able to keep up with what is going on, and what the major issues are in the USA. Even though it maybe somewhat later than when it airs there, at least I can see it. The news on satellite TV is limited, the English site for news is pretty much CNN International, and covers much more of the Asian countries, and unless something major is going on in the USA, it does not have coverage there. Those who have cable TV are able to see the major networks, and see most of the current programming. Satellite programming comes out of South America, mostly, and is re-run programs, or movies which frequently, were never shown in theaters anywhere. And understandably so, they can really be bad. I did not realize that one, outside of the USA, can not stream programs on the major networks. While I was surfing sites, I found a forum about that very issue. Because many of the programs are sold through iTunes, I am able to see my favorite shows by purchasing and downloading them. Technology, how far we have come! And I can only imagine what improvements and innovations will take place over the next few years. I would never have imagined, even a couple of years ago, that I could have so much at my finger tips, while living in a 3rd world country. I say that loosely, as I am reminded from time to time, but hardly ever think about it as I go about my daily routines. Much of life here is so comfortable, and tranquil, that alone, is a reminder to me that I am not in my prior life.
I love jazz and bossa nova music, and I found a wonderful, online station, www.sky.fm which is fabulous, and has many, many different genre. They have a link on the “radio” stations on iTunes, so I went to the site, and found they have all this online music. What a wonderful find!! One thing I discovered was that when I stream at 128K, it breaks up, but when I choose on of the lower steams, it plays just fine. So I am groovin’!
And to think that I was always too busy to enjoy the simple things in life…
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Another News Clipping about the Flooding
10 Dead, 5 Missing in Avalanche
by Rod Hughes
UPDATE: As of 8 p.m. Friday, eight more bodies have been uncovered by rescue workers, bringing the confirmed death toll of the avalanche to 10 with at least five more persons missing.
Atenas–An avalanche of rock and mud buried seven homes in Bajo Cacao in the San Isidro district of this town northwest of the capital during the early morning hours yesterday. As of this writing, two persons are known dead and 13 are missing as rescue crews and neighbors dig frantically through the accumulation of debris that once was part of a hillside.
Heavy rains signalling the end of the rainy season–wetter than normal–also flooded homes throughout the Central Valley this week, as rivers left their beds and flowed into surrounding neighborhoods. But this morning, the attention of the country is focused on the rescue attempt.
Shortly after 1:50 a.m. yesterday, a neighbor gave the alarm that “a tragedy of great proportions” had occurred. Other neighbors heard the thunder of the slide and struggled through a torrential cloudburst to the scene in pitch blackness. One of them, Freddy Artavia, told the newspaper La Nacion, “The rocks and trees didn’t let us pass. It was very dark and we couldn’t see a thing. It was raining a lot.”
By 9:05 yesterday morning, the first victim’s body was found, that of 25-year-old Jeffry Aguero. By 1:10 in the afternoon, Red Cross workers found Arquimides Aviles, 40, an employee of a nearby chicken ranch. Red Cross rescue crewman Randal Viquez of nearby Atenas arrived shortly after 2 a.m. and described utter confusion and screaming.
One of the first things Aguero did was to rescue a child of about seven whose feet were trapped by the slide. He was immediately taken to an improvised medical facility in the Fatima community center.
As often happens during disasters, there were miraculous escapes. Isabel Sandi was carried 100 yards by the slide but managed to extricate herself from the ruins with only a glass cut on her hand. “My husband had more injuries than I. It was dark and we didn’t know where we were,” she said.
The avalanche, 200 yards wide, left a path of devastation 400 yards long down the hillside, reaching the bank of the Cacao River before it stopped with parts of three autos showing through the debris. But the seven missing homes were not the only casualties. The Red Cross felt it prudent to evacuate 22 other homes in stricken Bajo Cacao as well as 40 more in the La Mandarina housing development.
Meanwhile, more than 785 homes have been damaged by flooding on the Pacific slope and 235 persons are in emergency shelters. Especially hard hit was the Puntarenas province town of Parrita.
And, if that were not enough, the national Weather Institute says the torrential downpours may not be nearly over, with a low pressure area in the Caribbean moving in Costa Rica’s direction. The country’s topography is so narrow that a low pressure zone close in on the east inevitably sucks in wet air from the Pacific, bringing rains.
Saturday October 13th, no rain yet today. Hopefully, things will dry out some to prevent more mudslides. A portion of the Auto Pista (major road), between San Ramon and Puntarenas collapsed yesterday also. Don't know if it is open yet. A friend was going to meet us for lunch, yesterday, but was not able to get on the highway.
by Rod Hughes
UPDATE: As of 8 p.m. Friday, eight more bodies have been uncovered by rescue workers, bringing the confirmed death toll of the avalanche to 10 with at least five more persons missing.
Atenas–An avalanche of rock and mud buried seven homes in Bajo Cacao in the San Isidro district of this town northwest of the capital during the early morning hours yesterday. As of this writing, two persons are known dead and 13 are missing as rescue crews and neighbors dig frantically through the accumulation of debris that once was part of a hillside.
Heavy rains signalling the end of the rainy season–wetter than normal–also flooded homes throughout the Central Valley this week, as rivers left their beds and flowed into surrounding neighborhoods. But this morning, the attention of the country is focused on the rescue attempt.
Shortly after 1:50 a.m. yesterday, a neighbor gave the alarm that “a tragedy of great proportions” had occurred. Other neighbors heard the thunder of the slide and struggled through a torrential cloudburst to the scene in pitch blackness. One of them, Freddy Artavia, told the newspaper La Nacion, “The rocks and trees didn’t let us pass. It was very dark and we couldn’t see a thing. It was raining a lot.”
By 9:05 yesterday morning, the first victim’s body was found, that of 25-year-old Jeffry Aguero. By 1:10 in the afternoon, Red Cross workers found Arquimides Aviles, 40, an employee of a nearby chicken ranch. Red Cross rescue crewman Randal Viquez of nearby Atenas arrived shortly after 2 a.m. and described utter confusion and screaming.
One of the first things Aguero did was to rescue a child of about seven whose feet were trapped by the slide. He was immediately taken to an improvised medical facility in the Fatima community center.
As often happens during disasters, there were miraculous escapes. Isabel Sandi was carried 100 yards by the slide but managed to extricate herself from the ruins with only a glass cut on her hand. “My husband had more injuries than I. It was dark and we didn’t know where we were,” she said.
The avalanche, 200 yards wide, left a path of devastation 400 yards long down the hillside, reaching the bank of the Cacao River before it stopped with parts of three autos showing through the debris. But the seven missing homes were not the only casualties. The Red Cross felt it prudent to evacuate 22 other homes in stricken Bajo Cacao as well as 40 more in the La Mandarina housing development.
Meanwhile, more than 785 homes have been damaged by flooding on the Pacific slope and 235 persons are in emergency shelters. Especially hard hit was the Puntarenas province town of Parrita.
And, if that were not enough, the national Weather Institute says the torrential downpours may not be nearly over, with a low pressure area in the Caribbean moving in Costa Rica’s direction. The country’s topography is so narrow that a low pressure zone close in on the east inevitably sucks in wet air from the Pacific, bringing rains.
Saturday October 13th, no rain yet today. Hopefully, things will dry out some to prevent more mudslides. A portion of the Auto Pista (major road), between San Ramon and Puntarenas collapsed yesterday also. Don't know if it is open yet. A friend was going to meet us for lunch, yesterday, but was not able to get on the highway.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Headlines - Town not far from here
Costa Rica Mudslide Leaves 4 dead, 14 Families Missing
Thursday , October 11, 2007
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Torrential rains caused a hillside to give way in central Costa Rica on Thursday, killing at least four people and burying houses, authorities said.
Two days of constant rain triggered the mudslide near the town of La Mandarina de Atenas, where 14 families are missing, said Miguel Carmon, president of Costa Rica's Red Cross.
Rescue workers were using heavy machinery and sniffer dogs to search for the missing, Carmon told reporters.
Authorities declared a state of emergency in four municipalities where rivers are close to jumping their banks and more mudslides are feared.
Wow! And the forecast for the next 14 days is for much more rain. The satellite map shows clouds and rain, and not much else.
http://www.costarica.com/Weather/
Thursday , October 11, 2007
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Torrential rains caused a hillside to give way in central Costa Rica on Thursday, killing at least four people and burying houses, authorities said.
Two days of constant rain triggered the mudslide near the town of La Mandarina de Atenas, where 14 families are missing, said Miguel Carmon, president of Costa Rica's Red Cross.
Rescue workers were using heavy machinery and sniffer dogs to search for the missing, Carmon told reporters.
Authorities declared a state of emergency in four municipalities where rivers are close to jumping their banks and more mudslides are feared.
Wow! And the forecast for the next 14 days is for much more rain. The satellite map shows clouds and rain, and not much else.
http://www.costarica.com/Weather/
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