Rains Knock Out Cells

The torrential rains which have been assualting the country, causing widespread damage from the mountainous area of Acosta southwest of the capital to the entire Pacific coast this week have knocked out 67 mobile radio stations crippling the mobile phone system,

Currently the only cell phone service, the government-owned ICE, set up Vsat satellite service in Quepos and Ciudad Cortez where all phone service was knocked out. But those were not the only land lines knocked out by flooding.

As of Friday late morning the rains had resumed, bad news for hard-pressed utility workers who have been hard at it since the early hours Thursday, attempting to keep electricity flowing and other needed services going. A y A, the water and sewer company has also tried to repair damages as soon as possible, but some towns are isolated due to bridges being washed away.

With the ground saturated water has nowhere to go, simply sliding off the ground and washing down inclined surfaces. The Ministry of Public Works have had to deal with numerous landslides blocking roads.

The washed out cell services have been across the board--3G, GSM and TDMA. The affected areas are also widespread: La Cangreja, Carrizales de San Marcos de Terrazu, Pirris, Casamata de El Empalme, El Llano de Orotina, Marbella, Nosara, Garza, Samara and Parrita.

Although this would seem merely an inconvenience, many communities are isolated by fallen or flooded bridges and cellular phones are the only means of communication with the rest of the country.