Alert declared once more for Pacific slope due to heavy rains

The National Meteorological Institute (IMN) has announced that rains are expected to increase significantly on Costa Rica’s Pacific Slope beginning on Tuesday.

The Central and Southern Pacific regions could receive as much as 100-250 mm (nearly 4-10 inches) of rain in a 24-hour period, and 60-80 mm in the Northern Zone and Guanacaste. These amounts could be repeated in these regions on Wednesday, the IMN stated on its website.

All of these regions were hit hard by Tropical Storm Nate on Oct. 7-8.

Winds of 40-60 km/hour are expected in the Southern Pacific on Tuesday, and the IMN reported Monday evening that strong electrical storms were being observed in the Central Valley, Dota and Tarrazú.

The institute advised people in all the affected areas to exercise extreme caution, especially when traveling, because unstable ground conditions created by Tropical Storm Nate could lead to additional flooding and landslides under additional heavy rain.

We will continue to update this developing story as additional information becomes available.