From October 4 to 6, 2017, Costa Rica was pounded by Tropical Storm Nate – which would later hit the US as Hurricane Nate. According to weather data from the Monteverde Institute, Tropical Storm Nate contributed 17% of Monteverde’s annual rainfall in just two days.
By the time Nate hit, it had already been raining for more than 2 weeks straight. The storm knocked out power, potable water, and phone service. As rain continued to fall on already saturated soils, water-logged hillsides began to give way. Streams jumped their borders, sweeping away roads and bridges (such as the Buen Amigo bridge, at left). Neighbors in Monteverde and nearby San Luis were stranded as landslides took out roads. Several homes in Monteverde were lost.
Fortunately no one was injured during the storm, thanks in great part to the excellent coordination and super-human efforts of the local emergency commission. Neighbors gathered to help one another and to hear the latest updates from the emergency commission. Services were restored and roads opened in what seemed like record time, although long-term road repairs will take much longer.
Here at the Children’s Eternal Rainforest, we were incredibly fortunate in that no buildings were damaged. During a workshop on Adaptation to Climate Change earlier this year, the MCL identified increased heavy rainfall and high wind events as the climate change-related threats likely to have the greatest impact on the CER. As a result of this process, we had implemented preventative measures, such as improving drainage and trimming trees along roads and near buildings. Thanks to these efforts, the damage caused by Nate was much less than it otherwise might have been.
The CER sustained the most damage in San Gerardo, where Nate brought hurricane-like winds in addition to heavy rainfall. The road to San Gerardo and the trails near the field station were damaged by flooded streams, landslides, and fallen trees. Heavy machinery was necessary to install culverts and remove multiple landslides. Chain saws and manual labor were crucial in removing tree and branch falls on the road and trails (photo, right). At one point we had 11 workers and 4 chainsaws operating at the same time! To date, the MCL has invested more than 600 hours of manual labor by our personnel, in addition to the cost of materials and heavy machinery.
We are grateful to our neighbors and members for their support in repairing the road to the field station and neighboring farms. Although additional road repairs are still necessary, we are pleased to report that San Gerardo Station is once again up and running!
Our thoughts are with the people throughout Central America who are still in the process of recovering from this destructive storm.