costa rica severe rains

Heavy and persistent rainfall throughout Costa Rica provoked significant flooding in the canton of Turrialba on Thursday afternoon.

National Meteorological Institute (IMN) Director Juan Carlos Fallas said that rains this month have surpassed already September averages by as much as 50 percent.

The seventh tropical wave of the year is to blame for heavy showers over most of Costa Rica. Downpours flooded streets in San José and Heredia on Monday.

The IMN also advised caution for people near rivers in the surroundings of the Poás, Turrialba and Rincón de la Vieja volcanoes, as higher waters could carry materials accumulated from recent eruptions.

Rainfall recorded in Costa Rica on Wednesday and Thursday represented 50 percent of the average rainfall during the month of October.

Heavy rains recorded Monday morning in various regions of Costa Rica were the result of a low-pressure system, the National Meteorological Institute reported.

Motorists in Costa Rica are facing heavy traffic jams at the start of the rainy season, thanks to flooding, accidents and additional cars on the road.

Heavy thunderstorms and flash floods washed away cars and flooded homes across the Costa Rican capital of San José, with the neighborhoods of Los Yoses, San Pedro, Montes de Oca and Desamparados among the hardest hit by the rains.

National Emergency Commission officials on Friday closed all 16 shelters following evacuees' return home.

According to Costa Rica's National System of Conservation Areas, mudslides and flooding damaged access roads and collapsed sewers in several parks, some of which were forced to close access to visitors. Those closings mostly occurred in the Central Volcanic Range, the La Amistad-Caribe area and Tortuguero National Park.