The Sarapiquí River , or Rio Sarapiquí , in Costa Rica is a tributary of the San Juan River and forms the eastern border of Sarapiquí Canton . The area around the river is mostly lowlands tropical rainforest , having lush vegetation with a large variety of plant, animal and insect life. This river is navigable and is a local trading artery, and also supports fishing and tourism activity.
6-490: The river, which was previously called 'Siripiqui', is prone to flooding. Around the river are plantations of coffee, sugar cane, bananas and cocoa trees. The 2009 Costa Rica earthquake near Cinchona greatly affected the Sarapiqui River. Since the privatisation of electricity production in the country, the river has seen a number of hydroelectric dams being built along the watercourse. In 2012, corruption linked to
12-426: A maximum Mercalli intensity of IX ( Violent ). The shock took place in northern Costa Rica , 30 kilometres (19 mi) north-northwest of San José and was felt throughout Costa Rica and in southern central Nicaragua . The earthquake took at least 34 lives, including at least three children, left 64 people missing, and injured at least 91. Hundreds of people were trapped and two villages were cut off. Most of
18-563: The aid. Additionally, the United States and Colombia dispatched helicopters with aid to assist with the relief and recovery efforts. About 2,000 aftershocks were felt throughout Costa Rica . On January 12, President Oscar Arias declared a five-day period of national grieving out of respect for the victims, and asked the organizers postpone the Fiestas de Palmares , which is Costa Rica's largest and most anticipated festival that lasts for
24-666: The hydroelectric dams caused widespread outrage. The river is considered a national monument because of the vital service it provided in transporting arms, goods and soldiers in the 1856 war against the filibusters . 10°40′59″N 83°57′23″W / 10.68306°N 83.95639°W / 10.68306; -83.95639 This article related to a river in Costa Rica is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 2009 Costa Rica earthquake The 2009 Cinchona earthquake occurred at 1:21:35 pm local time on January 8 with an M wc magnitude of 6.1 and
30-542: The victims died when a landslide occurred near the La Paz waterfall by the Poás Volcano , and 452 people including 369 tourists were evacuated from the area in helicopters. 1,244 people were displaced in the immediate aftermath. In addition, a hotel, houses, roads, and vehicles were damaged, and several bridges were also destroyed. The town of Cinchona was severely hit, and all of the buildings there were heavily damaged. Power
36-529: Was temporarily disrupted in San José . The Costa Rican Red Cross sent at least 400 people to assist in the recovery. The agency said, "Some 42 communities were affected and sustained serious impacts on civil and electrical infrastructure... [They] are going to need a lot of help." Four helicopters were also dispatched in order to help aid efforts. The Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (National Emergency Commission) requested private helicopters to help with
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