A series of strong storms pounded the Pacific coast this week, flooding homes and downing trees.
The systems passed Costa Rica on Thursday, but the National Emergency Commission (CNE) maintained a yellow alert for the Southern and Central Pacific Regions on Thursday.
The yellow alert is the second of the country’s three alert levels.
The storms, which began to approach Costa Rica on Tuesday night at 8 p.m, damaged at least 1,000 properties and flooded at least 60 homes near Jacó and Quepos, towns on the central Pacific coast.
Fallen tree branches knocked out power in Jacó on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.
The Red Cross reported that a fallen tree along a highway in Quepos destroyed one home, while strong winds blew the roof off of a hotel.
The CNE has sent supplies such as blankets and plastic tarps to communities where homes have lost roofs.
In total, the National Meteorological Institute (IMN) recorded three storms in the chain of severe weather systems that hammered the coast this week. The IMN reported that the storms took the country by surprise and that meteorologists could not predict their intensity.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Central Valley, the CaribbeanCoast and the Northern Zone remained under a green alert – the lowest of the country’s three alert levels.
–Mike McDonald
