Hurricane Otto Strikes Northern Costa Rica

Hurricane Otto left ten people dead and directly affected more than 10,000 people as it swept through Costa Rica’s North on November 25. Nearly 5,500 residents were evacuated from the towns of Bagaces and Bijagua in the canton of Upala near the Nicaraguan border, with thousands of households and other infrastructure damaged. Rainfall completely destroyed dams, bridges and roads while mud covered towns. President Luis Guillermo Solís prioritized the entrance of medical and food supplies into Upala and declared three days of national mourning. The category-two storm made landfall in southern Nicaragua on November 24 and became the first hurricane to hit Costa Rica since records began in 1851. The hurricane traveled at 26 kilometers per hour, with maximum sustained winds reaching 95 kilometers per hour, as reported by Reuters. The storm also affected Nicaragua, leaving at least one dead, and Panama, killing four people earlier in the week.

According to the website of a family-run hotel in Bijagua, Casitas Tenorio, ‘‘a month’s worth of rain was dumped in a few hours. A head of water turned a small stream into a raging river and swept through the town taking everything in its path. Houses, roads and bridges were completely destroyed. Five community members lost their lives, and we are all in mourning,’’ the Tico Times reports.

The Health Ministry is currently carrying out a plan to prevent waterborne disease in the region, especially Zika, dengue, and chikungunya, through fumigation and by ‘‘setting up more toilets, showers and drinking water sources at the 42 shelters where more than 3,000 Costa Ricans are still being housed,’’ according to Tico Times.

Hurricane Otto hit some of the most impoverished areas of the Central American country and threatens the important coffee and agriculture sectors of the Costa Rican economy. At a press conference on November 29, President Solís confirmed that ‘‘public service agencies are working to restore water, electricity, and telecommunication services, which are gradually returning to normal in most of the county.’’