Costa Rica has declared a national emergency, with Hurricane Otto headed straight for Central America after being upgraded from a tropical storm. Nicaragua also lies in the path of the weather system.
Image: REUTERS/Ministry of Public Security of Costa Rica
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Officials warned of potentially deadly flash floods and mudslides across northern Costa Rica and southern Nicaragua on Thursday, with the hurricane path headed straight through both countries.
The US National Hurricane Center upgraded Otto from a tropical storm as it headed landward with sustained winds of 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour. The speed was expected to pick up before landfall.
Costa Rican president Luis Guillermo Solis declared a national emergency, with red alerts in several regions.
The government held an emergency meeting of officials to formulate Costa Rica's response.
All offices in the country not dealing with the storm and its effects were scheduled to be closed on Thursday and Friday.
Costa Rican officials were reported to have begun the evacuation of more than 4,000 people along the northern half of Caribbean coast. However, residents on Nicaragua's far southern Caribbean coast were reported to be headed there to look for safer shelter.
In the Nicaraguan city of Bluefields, which has some 45,000 inhabitants, the AFP news agency reported that there was panic buying of essentials including water and canned goods.
Otto had already proved deadly in Panama soon after it formed, bringing rains and wind that caused a deadly mud slide that killed two people. It also brought down a tree that crushed a nine-year-old boy in a car in the capital.
Another blow that the hurricane could deal would be the destruction of crops, with Nicaragua one of the poorest countries in Latin America relying heavily on agricultural output. Small farmers in the at-risk area depend on maize, beans, cocoa, honey, coffee and livestock for their livelihoods.
rc/bw (AFP, Reuters)
Cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes - the power of devastation
Cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes pack a devastating punch: wherever they go, they leave a trail of destruction. But how do these powerful tropical storms arise?
Image: AFP/D. Sarkar
Social distancing impossible during Cyclone Amphan
Residents along Bangladesh's coast are being moved to safety as one of the strongest cyclones in years strikes the region. Millions of people had to be evacuated from low-lying regions along the Bay of Bengal on May 19. But plans are complicated by the coronavirus precautions. Maintaining social distancing is nearly impossible.
Image: AFP/District Administration of Bhola
Typhoon season amid the COVID-19 pandemic
On May 14, Typhoon Vongfong slammed the Philippines with strong winds and heavy rains, destroying the city of San Policarpo in the eastern province of Samar. At least five people died and more than 91,000 people were forced to leave their homes. Typhoons are not unusual in the Philippines at this time of year. But the COVID-19 outbreak lockdown measures are exacerbating the situation.
Image: AFP/A. Beronio
Three names - one phenomenon
Hurricane, typhoon, and cyclone are actually three names for the same phenomenon. Along the North American coast they are called hurricanes, in East and Southeast Asia they are called typhoons, and near India and Australia they are called cyclones. But despite the different names, they develop in the same way.
Image: Reuters
A cyclone is created
Tropical storms develop over oceans when the water temperature is at least 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit). As the warm water evaporates and condenses, the air around it heats up and drags cooler air upwards, creating powerful winds.
The eye of the storm
The Earth's rotation causes the air stream to move around the eye of the storm, which can be up to 50 kilometers wide. This area is nearly completely free of clouds and wind.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A storm hits land
When a tropical storm hits a coastline, it becomes weaker due to the lack of warm water. In Australia, "Marcia" was soon downgraded to a category one storm, while "Lam" weakened after striking near Brisbane. Masses of water from the sea often cause the worst damage - as seen here in China after Typhoon Nanmadol in August 2011.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Chaos ensues
Hurricane Sandy was one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded over the Atlantic Ocean. It caused waves of up to 4 meters high, fires, power outages and broken dykes. Sandy arrived with winds at speeds of more than 145 kilometers per hour. Cuba, New York and New Jersey were particularly affected.
Image: Reuters
Destructive vortex
Tornadoes however, are non-tropical whirlwinds that can occur anywhere a storm is brewing. Local temperature differences force warm air upwards and cold air down, and a column of warm air rotates upwards at an increasing velocity. Tornadoes are usually only a maximum of 1 kilometer in diameter.
Fastest storms
As the warm air rises, it forms a funnel, the main characteristic of a tornado. Inside the funnel, the speed of the air can be tremendous - up to 500 kilometers per hour. Tornadoes are the fastest whirlwind type of weather phenomenon.
Image: Fotolia/Daniel Loretto
Trail of destruction
A tornado can leave a trail of destruction several kilometers long. In the US Midwest, tornadoes occur several hundred times a year, as dry, cold air from the north hits damp, warm air from the Gulf of Mexico. It's different in other countries - in Germany, for example, tornadoes occasionally occur along the coast.
