I had planned to go record shopping this Black Friday and do some Holiday shopping for friends and family as well.  As many of you know from listening to The AYMERICH Show… and on social media Costa Rica is my birth place and the place I call home… I have many loved ones there and family. I was really looking forward to getting some new vinyl on the cheap, but the news over the week had me nervous and now my plans have slightly changed.

Hurricane Otto hit Costa Rica and Nicaragua on Wednesday as a category 2 storm. As well an earthquake struck (Not sure of the magnitude) in the Pacific ocean ocean outside of El Salvador that affected much of already battered Nicaragua. The press is not making much of this saying that the storm has now passed over with minimal damage… As per usual with the US mass media, that is not entirely true…

San Jose (The Capital), Costa Rica is fine. The storm a category 2 when it made landfall was strong since the nation rarely gets hit by hurricanes. According to local reports San Jose (The Central Valley Region) had a harsh storm and some fallen trees and flooding. That is not the same for the rest of the country in the north. Especially across the border in Nicaragua.

Authorities in Nicaragua said the hurricane had damaged houses, but so far there were no reports of casualties. Earlier, heavy rains from the storm were blamed for three deaths in Panama… Otto battered Nicaragua’s Corn Islands with 3.5-meter (10-foot) waves and damaged houses, but residents were all safe in refuge shelter camps, said the archipelago’s mayor, Cleveland Rolando Webster. “There is a lot of rain, the sea is rough and the wind is strong. We have been in danger all night, getting cold and wet,” said Alicia Lampson, 21, as she arrived at a shelter with a group of people from the village of Monkey Point, south of Bluefields, Nicaragua.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the unusually strong late-season hurricane hit land in Nicaragua just north of the Costa Rican border. By Friday morning it was centered about 115 miles (190 kilometers) west-southwest of Santa Elena, Costa Rica. The Nicaraguan government earlier declared a state of emergency, and said evacuations would continue because of the continued risk of flooding, which could in it self bring death. Schools were closed.

Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis announced that three had been killed in or near the town of Bagaces, and a fourth person in an unspecified location. He said that at least six people were missing in Bijagua, a town south of the Costa Rica-Nicaragua border. As when I got these statistics I saw on CNN Otto killed at least four people in Costa Rica and then headed into the Pacific Ocean this morning after making landfall as the southernmost hurricane on record to hit Central America. president Solis said as much water fell on the area in a few hours as normally falls in a month, and said some people had been trapped by rising waters. As of the moment both nations are just now finding out the level of damage the storm caused to them.

Officials in Costa Rica evacuated 2,500 people before the hurricane hit and called off school nationwide for the rest of the week. Right now many roads are blocked off from fallen trees and mud slides which could contain some casualties. These obstacles are also blocking emergency aid to the people in the regions in Northern Costa Rica. At the moment a small amount of aid is getting to the people in certain areas in helicopters and small aircraft. Overflowing rivers and streams from volcanoes are flooding areas especially the Canton of Upala is washing out bridges and flooding coffee farms, cattle ranches and homes and business… Solis said Otto could damage the country’s important coffee and agriculture sectors. Nicaragua also feared damage to coffee crops that are almost ready for harvest.

So what changed my plans… I am giving some of my money to help all of these people, some of who I know personally. many of these guys are not going to have a Christmas now. They are going to be rebuilding and mourning some the loss of loved ones. How can you help? If you are reading this and live there. There are places in the central valley (San Jose) where you can give water, food and clothing. If you are like me and all you can do is give money the following graphic can help. Use the Dolares account… and make a transfer from your bank. Both banks are good.

Its not time for jokes and games back home… But watching the news I LOVE seeing the Pura Vida spirit in full force!! Even in this time of horror and hard work, the Ticos are smiling and doing what they can! Cutting trees, saving people and even driving up and giving a can of tuna… Still it’s not enough, let Pura Vida fill you and give what you can. You love going there on vacation, drinking their coffee and NOMin on the bananas, well now they need you… I need you…

If you are like me and have loved ones there or just LOVE being there and want to follow whats going on there are some links so you can follow the news…

Monumental (Radio) – Repretel 2 – Repretel 4 – Repretel 6 – Repretel 11 – Teletica –  Cadena Radial Costarricense – Mundo Pyme tv