Hurricane Otto, category 2 (in the Saffir-Simpson Scale), hit Costa Rica on November 24th 2016. Otto killed at least nine people and forced thousands to evacuate when it battered Nicaragua and Costa Rica with hurricane-force winds and torrential rains, before moving out into the Pacific Ocean. To date, in Costa Rica 214 communities have been affected, 1183 houses are damaged, as well as roads, bridges and public and private infrastructure. 11,853 people remain evacuated and the alerts have dropped to yellow but in the meantime the official institutions are receiving more damage reports on rural flooding, overflowing of rivers, streams and creeks, as well as landslides, with a negative impact in livelihoods and basic services facilities such as electricity, communication and water for human consumption.

RRFs_Costa Rica_Hurricane Otto_No.RRF 09/2016