Emergency Aid to Costa Rica for Torrential Rain Disaster

January 27, 2005

On January 26 (Wed), the Government of Japan decided to extend emergency assistance in kind (tents, electricity generators, water purifiers, etc.), equivalent to about 12.5 million yen, to the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica, which has sustained a torrential rain disaster.
Since January 7, the torrential rain has been hitting Costa Rica mainly in the northern part of the country and the Caribbean region, causing landslides, flooding of rivers, leaving five people dead and more than 70,000 people afflicted (as of January 19). In the disaster-affected areas, there are still a lot of afflicted persons, who are forced to live in difficult conditions. In such a situation, the Government of Costa Rica requested an emergency aid from Japan, while making rehabilitation efforts on its own.
Japan has decided to extend this emergency aid for the disaster-afflicted from humanitarian point of view and in light of the friendly relations between Japan and Costa Rica.

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