Cyclone Eta ends its influence in Costa Rica and moves towards Cuba, according to the National Meteorological Institute (IMN). Local factors will maintain rains in the afternoon and evening on Saturday in the Pacific, the Central Valley as well as the mountainous areas of the country.
IMN reported that the deadly cyclone is advancing at 21 kilometers per hour (km / h) in the direction of the island. This after having impacted Nicaragua like a hurricane, to later degrade and pass over Honduras and Belize.
#IMN_Meteorological Report:
“Eta continues to move to Cuba while it no longer has significant influence over Costa Rica”
Aired: Saturday, November 7, 2020, 8:00 am pic.twitter.com/HIarfJOvGt
– IMN, Costa Rica (@IMNCR) November 7, 2020
“Given the intensity and position of this phenomenon, it does not exert significant influence over Costa Rican territory,” the entity reported in its 8:00 a.m. report.
In the last 12 hours, the Institute recorded accumulated rainfall that did not exceed 5 millimeters (mm), each equivalent to one liter of water per square meter (m2). The foregoing after, for example, Guanacaste reached accumulated 100 mm in the first four days of November; an amount that doubles the average record for the entire month.
Despite the cessation of Eta’s influence in the country, for the afternoon and night of this November 7, the Meteorological Institute predicts rains on the Pacific slope, the Central Valley, and the mountainous areas. However, this time the rainfall is related to local factors, such as the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the intensity of the trade winds.
In the regions in question, localized rains are expected with accumulated estimates between 20 and 40 mm. The entity issued a special warning to the Pacific coast and the mountainous parts of the Central Valley, while the anticipated downpours may cause landslides or landslides due to saturation of the soils that persist after a week of heavy rainfall.
Weather conditions improve
Geologists and engineers have entered the different zones for damage assessment. First responders access more than 23 isolated communities. Also, the institutions prioritize the care of 1800 people in shelters.
This same call made a day earlier by the National Emergency Commission (CNE) when informing that the work of the municipal disaster response committees will be aimed at helping the 1,872 people who spent the night in one of 59 shelters distributed in San José, Puntarenas, and Guanacaste.
Eta caused several dozen fatalities during its passage through Central America, the majority in Guatemala. Costa Rica registered two deaths associated with tropical depression.
