Central America on alert as Hurricane Otto progresses westwards: OCHA

Storm alerts remain in place across the Central American region after category 2 hurricane Otto made landfall on the eastern coastline Thursday, forcing thousands to seek safety, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Friday.

"Costa Rica has declared a state of emergency as heavy rains have affected and in some cases cut off entire communities," OCHA said in a statement, adding that 4,000 people have been evacuated and over 1,300 people are in 18 shelters.

"In Nicaragua, some 10,570 people have been evacuated by authorities and there are 44 official shelters open in the country. Authorities have deployed mobile clinics to the affected areas," it added.

With storm alerts still in place on the region's western coastline, OCHA reported that four people had been killed in Panama as a result of the hurricane, with rains continuing in the province of Chiriqui and mudslides blocking parts of the main highway.

The governments of Honduras and El Salvador are also closely monitoring the potential impact Otto could have on their communities, though weather reports from the U.S. based National Hurricane Centre indicate that the storm is moving away from landmasses and into the Pacific. Endit