Hours after Costa Rican education officials made a public announcement that all public schools would reopen Thursday, October 12, heavy rains in the country’s south-central mountains set those plans back in three counties.

Due to a red alert set in virtually all but the Caribbean coast last Thursday and Friday when rains from Tropical Storm Nate were at their peak, the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Education canceled classes in pubic schools in the entire country.

As the areas under high alert have gradually had the flooding recede and roads reconnected, albeit some provisionally, schools have been reopening in the northern and southern Pacific regions, and Central Valley mountainous areas affected by Nate.

Early today, the ministry announced the return of the country’s some 650,000 students to public classrooms, only to see that heavy rains this afternoon, Wednesday, October 11, in the south central moutain counties of Tarrazú, Dota, and León Cortés brought a return to the red alert status in those areas.

The ministry added the caveat to the reopening announcement by saying that schools that have been closed up until today will require an inspection by their school director who will make a final decision as to whether the installations are ready to receive students.

Aspects such as cleanliness, condition of roads in the neighboring area, basic services (water, electricity, food supplies for cafeteria, etc.), and safety will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to ensure students’ safe return to classes.

The ministry also called upon schools that have been closed since Nate to reorient students and provide catch-up exercises for the lessons lost so students can have a smooth return to classes.

Public schools in Tarrazú, Dota, and León Cortés will have no classes for the rest of the week, detailed the Ministry.

Meanwhile, tropical weather system number 43 is currently moving over southern Panama and is expected to dump rains on Costa Rica late Friday and into Saturday, though not nearly as much as did Nate, said meteorologists, who said the rains would mainly affect the Pacific and Central areas of the country as well as mountainous areas, and to a lesser degree the Caribbean.