Hurricane Otto has strengthened to a category two storm as it approaches the sparsely populated Caribbean border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica as an unusually strong late-season event. Heavy rains from the storm were blamed for three deaths in Panama, and Otto was forecast to make landfall in Nicaragua on Thursday, just north of the Costa Rican border. Officials in Costa Rica ordered the evacuation of 4,000 people from its Caribbean coast and closed schools nationwide for the rest of the week. Hurricane Otto: Costa Rica declares national emergency as storm heads for coast Read moreThe country’s National Meteorological Institute noted that a hurricane had never made landfall in Costa Rica since records began. The US National Hurricane Center said the storm had regained hurricane strength late on Wednesday night after fluctuating between tropical storm and hurricane status earlier in the week.

Source: The Guardian November 24, 2016 14:28 UTC