San Jose - The Costa Rican government declared a national state of emergency Wednesday after heavy damage and casualties were caused by heavy rainfall over the last week. The floods have already claimed 18 lives. Intense rainfall added to the rain of recent months, causing an estimated 80 million dollars in damage, National Emergency Commission boss Daniel Gallardo said Wednesday.
He added that the roads across the country had been badly damaged, particularly in the Costa Rican south and in the northern province of Guanacaste.
"The damage to the traffic infrastructure is immense," said the president's chief of staff, Rodrigo Arias.
Neighbouring countries Nicaragua and Panama and several Caribbean islands have also been affected by flooding.
