Source: NOAA San Juan, Aug 28 (EFE).- At least 14 people died and 25 went missing on the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica when it was hit by Tropical Storm Erika. Dominica's Public Works and Communications Minister Ia Pinnar said in a statement on local radio that, according to the latest information available, 14 bodies have been recovered and at least another 25 people are missing. P...

By Mauricio Costanzo, 2009 Flickr Creative Commons 2.0 By Carolina Cusirramos Lima, Aug 27 (EFE).- Aware of the threat that climate change poses to their livelihoods, rural communities in Peru are dealing with global warming by using both traditional and scientific techniques discussed in a new book, "Lecciones para la Tierra" (Lessons for the Earth). The book recounts 20 experiences fro...

Panama City, Aug 8 (EFE).- The Panama Canal said it will lower the maximum allowable draft of ships passing through the inter-oceanic waterway starting Sept. 8 due to an El Niño-triggered drought. The measure will affect 18.5 percent of the ships that travel through the canal, according to the Panama Canal Authority, or ACP, which said it will not significantly affect "the efficiency and capaci...

Wikimedia Commons Washington, Jul 30 (EFE).- On Friday, July 31, a rare so-called "blue moon" will be seen in the sky, an event that occurs only once every three years or so and which will not recur until January 2018. As the U.S. Naval Observatory says on its Web page, a so-called "blue moon" is a second full moon within the same calendar month. Each lunar cycle between full moons lasts...

Google Maps Caracas, Jul 24 (EFE).- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said his government is "keeping watch" for a possible tsunami in the Caribbean, after the Seismic Research Center of Trinidad and Tobago warned of strong seismic activity in the underwater volcano Kick'em Jenny "I am in contact with governors, military chiefs and emergency management offices keeping watch for a possible...

"Taquile from Amantani" by Ingo Mehling - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons Lima, Jul 7 (EFE).- Some 60 tourists left stranded for several hours on Taquile, one of the islands in Lake Titicaca, were rescued in the early hours Tuesday by the Peruvian navy following a storm with winds of up to 60 kph (37 mph), officials said. The naval commander, Capt. Juan Jose Gonz...

The magnificent Caral. Wikimedia Commons By David Blanco Bonilla Lima, Jun 11 (EFE).- Caral, the Americas' oldest civilization, located north of present day Lima, Peru, faced a grave crisis as a result of climate change some 4,000 years ago, archaeologists said. "Droughts were so severe that they could have lasted between 60 and 130 years, which could explain why there were social crises...

Source: MSP IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are looking for an updated report of the helicopter that crashed in the San Juan River near the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua on Nov. 17, 2015, please visit our sister publication ICRNews: http://insidecostarica.com/2015/11/17/one-american-dead-three-persons-missing-helicopter-crash-costa-rica-nicaragua-border/   A rotary wing aircraft as...

The town of Salgar before the landslides. Source: Government of Antioquia Bogota, May 18 (EFE).- At least 33 people died and an unknown number are missing in a landslide caused when a creek overflowed in the town of Salgar, in northwest Colombia, a regional government spokesman confirmed to Efe. "The latest official figure provided by the Dapard (emergency management department) is of 33 de...

Follow these tips to keep the weather from deteriorating your walls and ceilings By: Carolina Ruiz Vega Sun, rain, hail, even volcanic ash… Costa Rica’s weather can be uncertain and merciless to unprotected walls and ceilings, which are vulnerable and likely to suffer environmental damages. May marks the beginning of the rainy (green) season in this tropical country. However, due to the E...

Source: OVSICORI Geologists from the Observatory on Volcanology and Seismology of Costa Rica (OVSICORI) are closely monitoring their seismographs and other instruments located around the Turrialba volcano, located in the province of Cartago, after a series of tremors were registered during lunchtime on Monday, May 11th. At this time, the OVSICORI scientists are unable to monitor the cameras...

In light of the recent eruptions and increased activity at the Turrialba volcano in the province of Cartago, the British Embassy in Costa Rica has updated its advice to travelers. The Costa Rica Star has been closely following the announcements by our country's geologists and emergency officials with regard to this active colossus, which has been compared to a “pressure cooker.” The following u...

Airport workers perform de-icing at U.S. airports / EFE Washington, Mar 5 (EFE).- A bad snowstorm accompanied by very low temperatures extending from northeastern Texas to New England is affecting some 94 million people across the country on Thursday. Weather authorities have issued snow advisories from Alabama up through the Mid-Atlantic states and into New England, and Washington D.C. has...

Source: Modernize.com This article, written by Jane Blanchard, was kindly provided by Modernize, an Austin, TX-based provider of residential construction and renovation solutions. The Republic of Costa Rica is a patchwork quilt of micro climates. In Playas Del Coco, on the westward Pacific coast, leisure travelers snorkel in blue-gray waters warmed by abundant sunlight and fed by 55 inches ...

The Sarapiqui River A journalist investigating the death of a woman from the United States was physically assaulted by an entrepreneur who provides river rafting tours in Costa Rica. Such was the report published by Diario Extra, the daily tabloid which assigned Alfonso Gatjens to look into the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Amanda Hellman, a woman from the U.S. who died in the ...

Overall good weather will be enjoyed by families and tourists in Costa Rica over the holidays. According to a weather forecast reported by national television network Repretel, sunny skies and moderate breeze will be predominant during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Average daytime temperatures will fluctuate between 22 and 24 degrees Celsius (71 to 72 Fahrenheit). After the sunset, however, a s...

The unexpected rains that fell on the Central Valley and parts of the Caribbean region of Costa Rica earlier today were a presage of the dry season that will officially begin this weekend. Such was the assessment of the National Meteorology Institute (Spanish initials: IMN), which is forecasting a very dry season that will exacerbate drought conditions in parts of Guanacaste and Puntarenas. &nb...

Source: Ge PC Facebook Days after the powerful magmatic eruption of the Turrialba volcano in the province of Cartago, ash clouds and acid rain are affecting the lives of thousands of residents in Costa Rica. The impact of this geological aftermath has had a negative effect on public health and the agricultural sectors, but the tourism economy in the region has yet to report losses.   ...

Source: Red Cross Strong rains and storm surge caused more than 30 major landslides in Costa Rica earlier this week. Red Cross rescue units and first responders from Fuerza Publica, the national police force, sprung to action to safely evacuate and render aid to more than 2,000 people in affected communities. The majority of those rescued have been motorists driving on Route 32, the main highw...

Source: CNFL Twitter Relentless wind speeds reaching 90 kilometers per hour in the populous Central Valley of Costa Rica and the surrounding mountain ranges kept Red Cross workers, paramedics and public utilities crews on their toes this week. Two delivery trucks in the municipality of Santa Ana were nearly crushed by uprooted trees, people were injured by flying debris and several communities...

A combination of less rainfall, coupled with the increased cost of generating electricity using bunker and diesel fuels, threaten a sharp rise in electricity rates this year. The Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (ARESEP) – regulating authority for public services – has already approved two hikes for the first and second quarter of 2014 (the first already in force), followed by two...

Escape this winter to the land of perpetual summer on the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Blue skies, golden sun, tropical breezes, warm surf and soft sand await you. Sounds pretty good if you’re looking out the window at freezing rain, ice, snow and a heavy gray sky, doesn’t it? Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast stretches from the port town of Puntarenas to just before the surf town o...

An ongoing lightning strike detection and measurement program conducted by the Electricity Institute of Costa Rica (Spanish initials: ICE) has tallied more than 1.6 million atmospheric discharges across the country since 2011, and Guanacaste seems to be the most electrifying province, followed by Alajuela and Heredia. With more than 600,000 recorded lightning strikes in 2012, Costa Rica is now one...

Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla-Miranda highlighted in an address to the United Nations today the contribution of young people to the new development agenda through innovation and the use of new technologies. “Increasingly, innovation, technology, education and culture are recognized as promoters of development, and there is a growing consciousness on the need of actively incorporating y...

This is a guest article by Live in Costa Rica. The effects of two storms, César and Juana, turned the town of Puerto Cortés into a virtual ghost town. Juana tore through Cortés in 1988. I remember that storm well because my son was born during it. César occurred around the year 2000. Between the two storms that took place in the Southern Pacific Zone (Zona Sur) a lot of damage occurred. Star...

By Nina Chestney and Alister Doyle LONDON | Fri Dec 14, 2012 11:20am EST LONDON (Reuters) - International climate scientists are more certain than ever that humans are responsible for global warming, rising sea levels and extreme weather events, according to a leaked draft report by an influential panel of experts. The early draft, which is still...

October 19th, 2012 – As a result of flooding caused by heavy rains on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, as well as a report issued by the National Meteorology Institute (IMN, in Spanish) on Thursday, the National Risk Prevention and Emergency Response Comission (CNE), declared a “green alert” for the Pacific and Central Valley areas. The heavy rains, as well as bad waste management, caused riv...

According to a bulletin issued by the National Meteorological Institute (IMN), the next three months will be dryer than usual. The forecast released on June 4 by the director of the IMN, Juan Carlos Fallas, stated that this dryness is due to El Niño and its effects will be felt in Costa Rica until March of 2013. However, the director warned that when it does rain, the showers will be short and ver...

Note: You can go to The Costa Rica Star Facebook page to view a large photo gallery related to this article. Puntarenas - It’s 1pm, the last public bus from Cabagra prepares to leave, the inhabitants gather, a trip among steep ways lies ahead. The indigenous territory of Cabagra is located in the canton of Buenos Aires, province of Puntarenas, in southern Costa Rica. The population is made ...

Storm clouds over Costa Rica a few days ago produced a little over 0.11 percent of the average daily global lighting strikes in just two hours. The impressive thunderstorm that soaked great portions of the Central Valley on Wednesday evening delivered 2,000 lightning strikes, frying household appliances and electronics and striking fear in the hearts of dogs that affected by canine astraphobia ...

Early rains and precipitation forecasts for the rest of the year will bring instability to the agricultural markets, with uncertainty for farmers and benefits to consumers in a number of produce items. Preliminary reports indicate that May will be a good month for shoppers who flock to the farmers' markets in Costa Rica, and climate change has a lot to do with it. A 2008 study by researchers at...

As I sit here sweating enough to refill the Arenal lake, I really wish I were sea-side with a frothy adult beverage in hand. That's a place I haven't made it this year. You may be thinking I missed my chance now that Easter has passed, it's unofficially not summer here in Costa Rica, the rain is looming (which frankly in this heat, I welcome) and vacation days are over. I'm glad you feel that ...

Living in Costa Rica during the rainy season provides very specific challenges for those who are not prepared. This guide aims to provide some solutions to common problems faced by newcomers in their first rainy season in Costa Rica. Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, February 7th 2012 – This may seem a bit out of place; reading an article about the rainy season while we are in the midst of a particula...