During the rainy season, tropical waves and storm systems, Costa Rica’s National Emergency Commission (CNE) regularly places parts of the country — sometimes the entire nation — under color-coded alerts. For visitors, residents and property owners, knowing what each level signals can be the difference between staying calm and taking action. The system uses four levels: green, yellow, orange and red. Each one reflects a rising degree of risk and triggers a different set of responses from authorities and the public.
Who Issues Alerts in Costa Rica
Alerts are declared by the Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de Emergencias (CNE), the country’s national emergency agency. The CNE works alongside technical bodies such as the National Meteorological Institute (IMN) for weather threats, the National Seismological Network (RSN) and OVSICORI for earthquakes and volcanic activity.
An alert is an exceptional condition the CNE declares when a phenomenon is likely to occur or is already occurring, with the goal of coordinating an effective response. The framework rests on Costa Rica’s National Emergency and Risk Prevention Law (Ley N° 8488) and its accompanying regulation.
Importantly, alerts are geographic. The CNE can place a single district, several cantons, an entire province or the whole country under a given level, and different regions can sit under different colors at the same time. A red alert for parts of the Caribbean or Guanacaste, for example, can coexist with yellow or green alerts elsewhere.
Green Alert (Alerta Verde)
A green alert is informative. It is issued when authorities anticipate that a phenomenon could affect or endanger a community, region or the country. At this stage, the CNE broadens communication to relevant institutions and the general public and steps up monitoring of the developing situation. For most people, a green alert is a signal to stay informed and pay attention to official updates rather than to take immediate protective action.
Yellow Alert (Alerta Amarilla)
A yellow alert calls for preparation. It is declared when the danger has grown and authorities are confident a phenomenon will have a meaningful impact on the population. Emergency and relief bodies activate their established protocols, and the precautionary measures built into local, workplace and household emergency plans are put into effect. People living in areas prone to flooding or landslides should begin preparing for a possible evacuation by gathering medications, documents and other essentials.
Orange Alert (Alerta Naranja)
An orange alert represents mobilization and marks the stage just before maximum emergency. It is declared when high-risk conditions are present and authorities expect an event to occur that could affect the population, livelihoods, productive systems or access to basic services. At this level, the CNE may order the preventive evacuation of vulnerable communities to shelters, and it is common for authorities to suspend classes and coordinate emergency operations across institutions. The aim is to reduce the potential impact before a phenomenon fully materializes.
Red Alert (Alerta Roja)
A red alert is the highest and least frequently used level, reserved for large-scale, severe threats that require the full mobilization of emergency resources. It is triggered when a phenomenon’s impact is imminent or already unfolding. Because of its weight, a red alert is issued at the highest level — by the Executive Branch together with the CNE’s board and the relevant technical agency, such as the IMN, the National Seismological Network or OVSICORI.
During a red alert, all emergency and humanitarian teams are activated, large-scale evacuations to shelters may take place, and search, rescue and damage-assessment operations begin. Costa Rica has declared red alerts for events such as tropical storms, hurricanes and severe flooding, when heavy rains threatened or struck specific cantons and thousands of residents were moved to safety.
What Travelers and Residents Should Do
Under a green alert, stay informed and follow the forecast. Under a yellow alert, prepare — charge devices, keep essentials accessible and know your nearest safe route. Under an orange alert, be ready to move and heed any evacuation guidance, road closures or class suspensions.
Under a red alert, follow official instructions immediately and avoid non-essential travel in affected areas, particularly on mountain roads and near rivers prone to sudden flooding. Because Costa Rica’s terrain can turn a routine downpour into a landslide or flash flood within hours, alerts are worth taking seriously even when skies look clear where you are.
Where to Check for Current Alerts
The CNE publishes active alerts and updates through its official channels, and the IMN issues daily weather bulletins and forecasts for tropical systems during hurricane season, which in the Atlantic and Caribbean basin typically runs from June through November. The Tico Times as well as the CNE’s social media accounts are reliable ways to track which areas and districts are under which color at any given moment. When in doubt, official CNE and IMN sources should take precedence over informal reports.
