Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama are alert and have activated their relief teams in the face of the effects of potential tropical cyclone Two, which is already in the southwestern Caribbean Sea and is expected to strengthen on its way to Central America until it becomes the tormenta tropical Bonnie.
LOOK HERE THE PATH OF THE TROPICAL STORM:
The authorities of Nicaragua have reported that they have more than 300 temporary shelter centers readyand that sailings are suspended indefinitely in the 11 most important ports in the country, both in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
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At the end of 2020 the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua It was hit by hurricanes Eta and Iota, categories 4 and 5, respectively on the Saffir-Simpson scale, just 13 days apart, resulting in destruction and death.
The neighbor Costa Rica established an orange alert for almost the entire territory before the arrival of Bonnie this Friday, the day classes have been suspended from noon as a preventive measure against the rains that are expected to last until Saturday.
The Costa Rican National Emergency Commission activated the work of local emergency committees, the transfer of personnel and supplies to the areas that are expected to be the most affected, as well as the review of 200 places that could function as shelters in an emergency.
The last time Costa Rica suffered a direct hit from a hurricane was in 2016 when Otto entered the Caribbean coast, crossed the country and exited the Pacific.
In Panama, the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc) activated its operational teams in the provinces of the Caribbean coastincluding the borders with Costa Rica, due to the increase in weather instability due to the collateral effects of the passage of tropical cyclone Two.
Likewise, the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) issued a preventive notice – valid until next Saturday – to small boats and pleasure yachts to increase their precautionary measures on the coast or offshore of the Caribbean coast.
The rains associated with hurricanes Eta and Iota, which devastated part of Central America in November 2020, caused twenty deaths and millionaire damage to agriculture in Panama.
INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS ACTIVATED
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) and its network of national teams monitors the intensity and trajectory of the possible storm and the damage it leaves in its wake, such as light flooding without victims in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela.
In a statement, the IFRC noted that in Central America, Red Cross teams are reviewing their contingency plans and preparing communities.
“In Panama, the IFRC Humanitarian Hub is fully stocked, with essential items and goods to support up to 60,000 people in the first hours after a possible disaster”added the institution.
The Regional Logistics Center for Humanitarian Assistance (CLRAH), also known as the “Humanitarian Hub of the Americas”, is one of five in the world and has been operating since November 2018.
It has a storage capacity of 12,000 square meters, and its founding users are the Panamanian Sinaproc and the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD), operated by the World Food Program (WFP) and the IFRC.