Due to the influence of Hurricane Iota, the Guanacaste mountain range, the Tilarán mountain range and some sectors of the Central Valley could experience wind gusts of up to 80 km / h, the National Meteorological Institute (IMN) reported.
The area of influence of this hurricane is larger than usual, so some wind gusts could affect all the country, according to the institution. But the hardest impact would be mainly in mountainous areas.
The winds would reach between 60 and 80 km per hour, according to the IMN. However, this impact will be seen “very occasionally” and not in a generalized way in the country. The hurricane, in addition, would be dragging clouds towards the country in the afternoon and night, first in the South Pacific. Currently, the “cloud bands” are concentrated over Panama.
As precautionary measures, the IMN asked the population to take shelter in case of hearing strong gusts of wind or thunderstorms, especially in places vulnerable to falling trees, landslides, or power lines.
Iota has already reached Category 5 and became the most intense cyclone of this record hurricane season. The storm will make landfall at practically the same point that Eta wreaked havoc less than two weeks ago.
This season broke the record for hurricanes formed in a single year: there are already 30 named storms. So many hurricanes have formed that the meteorological authorities finished the Spanish alphabet to name them, so they began to name them from the Greek alphabet.
Climate change, the main cause
Climate change is leading to the formation of hurricanes due to rising ocean temperatures, Penn State researcher Michael Mann said in a statement. “As we continue to warm the planet and the tropical Atlantic, there is more energy to power more and stronger tropical storms and hurricanes,” he explained.
At the global level, an increase in the number of cyclones has not yet been perceived, but in the Atlantic – occasionally – there has been an increase in the number of tropical storms since 1980.
This, in turn, creates a risk for Costa Rica, as the Comptroller General of the Republic warned in a 2017 study. Not only due to human losses but also because of the impact it may have on public finances. This research warned that, by 2025, disasters would have cost the country at least 1% of GDP due to impacts mainly on public infrastructure, such as roads and bridges.
