Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia - Tropical Cyclone OTTO - UPDATE

Thu, 24 Nov 2016 03:15:00 +01:00

Tropical Cyclone "OTTO" continued moving west-northwest, heading towards eastern Nicaragua and north-eastern Costa Rica. On 24 November at 6.00 UTC its center was located 150 km north-northeast of Limon city (Costa Rica) and 175 km east-southeast of Bluefields (Nicaragua) and had max. sustained winds speed of 140 km/h (Category 1 Hurricane).
Over the next 24 h it is forecast to continue moving west, strengthening. It may reach the Caribbean coast of south-eastern Nicaragua or north-eastern Costa Rica on 24 November afternoon (UTC). Heavy rain, strong winds and storm surge may affect Costa Rica, southern Nicaragua (rainfall accumulation up to 500 mm), the San Andres and Providencia islands (Colombia) as well as central and western Panama. JRC calculations estimate a max. storm surge of the order of 0.7 m in the area of Amerisco (south-eastern Nicaragua) on 24 November at 15.00 (UTC).
As of 24 November early morning (UTC), a Hurricane Warning is in effect from Limon (Costa Rica) to Bluefields (Nicaragua). An Hurricane Watch and Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from Bluefields to Sandy Bay Sirpi (Nicaragua) as well as a Tropical Storm Warning for the San Andres island (Colombia) and Puntarenas (Costa Rica) to Puerto Sandino (Nicaragua).
Local media reported that the death toll has reached seven people in the provinces of Colon and Panama (Panama).