The National Commision of Emergencies in Costa Rica has released a yellow alert in the Nicoya area. Costa Rica has in fact been affected a little by Hurricane Gustav, but yesterday it finally hit the Guanacaste town. The places that might more affected by the storm are in the North Pacific: Península de Santa Elena, Sardinal, Marbella, San Juanillo, Montezuma, Mal País, Tambor, Playa Naranjo, Paquera, Nicoya, Miramar, Sardinal, Puntarenas; en el Pacífico Central: Jacó, Quepos, Esterillos, Parrita; and Pérez Zeledón, Buenos Aires, Rivas, Río Claro, Golfito; Valle Central: Palmares, Grecia, San Ramón, Naranjo in the South Pacific side of Costa Rica.
Among the damages, some commercial businesses in Liberia were flooded during the afternoon hours yesterday. Right now it is estimated that Hurricane Gustav is heading to Jamaica at 7 kilometers per hour so they think the storms might be over by Saturday morning in the Costa Rica pacific.
The good thing is that since in Costa Rica, weather and natural disasters are a common problem, buildings, homes and structures are prepared to deal with them and loss control is very well planned. Hopefully the rain will stop during the weekend, for those who are vacationing in Costa Rica right now, the Caribbean side seems to be clear so Puerto Viejo, Cahuita and Uvita beaches are the best locations to visit.
Costa Rica did not expect to be hit by Gustav and although the whole thing was a surprise it is quite impressive how the emergency commission, the people and the Costa Rica government were ready to deal with any misshapen right away. Some of the affected families have been relocated to temporary shelters while the soil dries a little to avoid any more issues.