The traffic in certain areas of the metropolitan area of Costa Rica is usually difficult on a Friday afternoon, but the heavy rains that affected the country caused floods that made the problem much worse.

San Rafael and San Antonio de Belén in Heredia; Desamparados, Pavas, Santa Ana and Paseo Colón in San José are just some of the areas affected by the rains, which are caused, according to the National Meteorological Institute, by a tropical storm that was entering the country this Friday afternoon.

The road known as “Radial Santa Ana-Belén” which connects these two communities was flooded near Proyecto Gol causing heavier traffic than usual in the area. In León Cortés, a firefighter unit that was attending another flooding emergency overturned and fell down a ravine of about 20 meters; the two people aboard were hurt but reported stable. Another accident occurred in the General Cañas Highway (San José-Alajuela) near the Firestone when a car skid off the road.

 

The National Emergency Commission declared a green alert at around 3 p.m. this afternoon urging local emergency commissions to monitor all risk areas and keep the communities informed of any possible dangers. The amount of rain that had fallen between noon and 4 p.m. was of 20-60 liters per square meter.

Guanacaste and the mountain areas of the Central Pacific also reported heavy rains.

Some communities in Coronado and San José were evacuated due to the risk of mudslides and overflown rivers.

Firefighters had to attend another emergency when lighting struck a utility pole in Río Segundo, Alajuela, causing one of the steel cables to heat, turning completely red hot and reaching a temperature of 440 degrees celsius (824 fahrenheit). (Watch the video below)