Costa Rica’s southern Pacific hit by heavy rains, flooding

Heavy showers and strong winds in much of the country prompted the National Emergency Commission (CNE) to declare a preventive alert on Thursday to warn people in coastal areas, particularly those in the Southern Pacific region.

CNE President Iván Brenes said at a press conference on Thursday that a total of 29 southern Pacific communities face flooding and overflowing rivers, as well as landslides in areas including Puerto Jiménez, Golfito, Osa and Corredores. The agency also received flooding reports from various communities in the Caribbean province of Limón.

CNE officials said that despite these conditions they have not evacuated any people as of Thursday afternoon.

The National Meteorological Institute (IMN) reported that rainfall levels increased in most of the country starting Wednesday evening prompted by a low-pressure system and will continue through the weekend.

IMN Director Juan Carlos Fallas said that a cold front moving north of Central America is influencing current weather conditions here. He also said that a new cold front is expected to create harsh weather conditions starting next weekend.

Effects in other areas of the country include cloudy skies, strong gusts of wind and a decrease in temperatures especially in communities along the Central Valley. Trade winds brought by the cold front are causing gusts up to 56 kilometers (35 miles) per hour in the Central Valley and in the northwestern province of Guanacaste.

See a video posted Thursday by Colosal Radio, a local station based in Ciudad Neily, near the border with Panama: