2015 was a year of rainfall extremes in Costa Rica -- Guanacaste faced a historically bad drought and heavy rainfall caused floods along the Caribbean.
Heavy rains in recent days have caused flooding in some 20 communities in Costa Rica’s southern Pacific region, the National Emergency Commission (CNE) reported Wednesday. Some are stranded by road washouts while others have been left without drinking water.
The northwestern province of Guanacaste already has registered the highest deficit in rainfall since the National Meteorological Institute began keeping records in 1937.
The National Meteorological Institute forecasts continued rains for the Caribbean and northern regions, and precipitation in the Pacific region, including Guanacaste. Currently 1,630 people forced to leave their homes by flooding and landslides are being housed in 17 shelters.
Tuesday evening's closure of Route 32 from San José to Costa Rica's Caribbean coast makes the fourth time since June that authorities have closed the route due to heavy rains and landslides.
President Luis Guillermo Solís is considering upgrading the alert for these regions from Yellow to Red — the most serious in the country’s three level emergency system. Passage on Route 32, the main road connecting the capital San José with Limón province, was reopened Tuesday at 7:30 a.m.
