9 killed by Hurricane Otto in Costa Rica

Hurricane Otto has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but not before it killed nine people in Costa Rica.

At least nine people have been killed in Costa Rica in the wake of Hurricane Otto, the government said on Friday.

Five were killed in Upala in the north of the country. Four others died in the nearby town of Bagaces.

President Luis Guillermo Solis has called for three days of national mourning from Monday.

The damage from the storm was heaviest in northern Costa Rica, Solis confirmed on Twitter.

According to the Red Cross, at least 25 people are still missing.

Otto, which began as an Atlantic storm, was centred over the open Pacific, after hammering the Central American country on Thursday.

Downgraded to a tropical storm, Otto was about 420 kilometres south of San Salvador on Friday.

It was moving westward at a speed of 26 kilometres per hour, with maximum sustained winds reaching 95 kilometres per hour.

Otto was forecast to continue moving west-north-west with no expected return to land, the Miami-based US National Hurricane Centre said on Friday.

Video from the storm-hit region showed flooding, mud-covered houses and roofs torn off buildings.

Nearly 1,200 houses were reported damaged. A bridge, two dams and dozens of roads were destroyed or damaged.


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Source: AAP


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9 killed by Hurricane Otto in Costa Rica | SBS News