weather

Rains hit highlands hard

Heavy rains in the Cerro Punta and Volcán areas caused widespread damage and concern.

Local growers predict heavy losses on their farms, which could exceed $1 million.

LA PRENSA

Big Job: Roads will have to be cleared of trees, branches, and mud brought down by the rain.1032545

The rains that pounded Cerro Punto for the last 40 hours have caused heavy landslides, damaged roads, and taken down trees, branches, and power lines.

In Alto Bambito, 50 farms were cut off from surrounding communities and the rest of the country.

Landslides along two sections of the road between Volcán and Cerro Punta brought traffic between the two points to a halt for more than four hours.

Growers in Alto Bambito are worried about their crops of potatoes, onions, and vegetables. They haven't been able to get to their fields since 3:30 a.m. Thursday. One local producer, Antonio Acosta, is sure the rain will keep falling. "We´re very concerned because, judging from the huge amount of rain that has fallen, we already know that we're going to have thousands of dollars of losses."

In Alto Bambito alone, Acosta said, there are 50 producers who have more than 600 hectares of potatoes and onions under cultivation, and 50 trucks loaded with produce come down from there everyday to do business in the local and national markets.

The president of the Comunidad Productora, Virgilio Saldaña, reported that the extent of damages can't be ascertained yet, since the rain is still falling. But he predicts more than $1 million in losses due to Thursday's deluge.

Engineer Roberto Rodríguez from the company Cultivos Selectos, which has a meteorological station, reported that 93 millimeters of water fell last Wednesday; 15 millimeters fell on Thursday, from 12:00 midnight to 11:30 a.m.; and 209 millimeters from last Friday, May 23 until Thursday, May29.

So far this year, rainfall during the entire month of May measures 325 millimeters. Last year it was 383 millimeters. "It's as if a bucket of water was emptied from the Bugaba highlands," Rodríguez said.