3. - usaid

Damage and Casualties
At the peak of the disaster a total of 12,391 people were evacuated from
the danger area. The majority of these returned to their undamap;ed farms
and homes within a month or less after the eruption. With the exception of
40 hard core refugees still under the care of GOCR, 3,280 homeless have
been retumed to reconstructed homes or have been resetltled elsewhere in
Costa Rica.
Totdl killed may never be known with certainty, but the U. S. Mission
believes the most accurate figure is 87. The number of injured was so
slight that no records were kept. 'Apparently, anyone c:aught in the danger
U.S. De~artment of the Interior/Geological Survey
zone was killed outright. The tragedy was canpounded by the deaths of 8
Costa Rican volunteer rescue workers who were travellbg in jeeps past the
volcano when the - nu6e ardente of July 31 exploded and incinerated them.
Only one poor mad wandered through the irranediate area; it was badly
damaged. Estimates of damage to farm lands, crops, and livestock vary
widely. The Government estimates put the loss at a bit over $1 million;
the U. S. hbassy believes this estimate is slightly high; they also
believe that the impact of the disaster on the total economy of Costa Rica
was negligible. For all practical purposes, the area affected was previously
marginal with mainly subsistence fanning; much of the land affected