Executive Branch extends emergency due to Caribbean storm for five more years

The Executive Branch extended for five years the national state of emergency declared due to the storm that affected the Caribbean slope on July 22, 23, and 24, 2021. The decision is contained in Executive Decree No. 45975-MP, signed by President Laura Fernández Delgado and the Minister of the Presidency, Rodrigo Chaves Robles, and published in La Gaceta No. 215 on Thursday, November 12, 2026. The extension takes effect from its publication and maintains the funding for pending reconstruction works.

The decree is based on articles 29 and 37 of the National Law of Emergencies and Risk Prevention, Law No. 8488 of November 22, 2005, as well as articles 140 paragraphs 3), 6), 8) and 18), 146 and 180 of the Political Constitution and articles 25, 27 and 28 of the General Law of Public Administration, Law No. 6227. The original declaration, Executive Decree No. 43131-MP of July 27, 2021, was published in La Gaceta No. 149, Scope No. 152 on August 5, 2021, and its five-year term was about to expire.

The technical criteria supporting the extension

The Board of Directors of the National Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Attention (CNE) recommended the extension through Agreement No. 089-08-2026, adopted in Ordinary Session No. 14-08-2026 on August 6, 2026. The technical and legal support is based on three pronouncements:

• Official Letter No. CNE-DESNGR-OF-101-2026 of July 29, 2026, from the Strategic Development Unit of the National Risk Management System.
• Official Letter No. CNE-DESNGR-OF-107-2026 of August 4, 2026, from the same unit.
• Official Letter No. CNE-UAL-OF-0357-2026 of July 30, 2026, from the Legal Advisory Unit.

The Executive Branch accepted these criteria considering that the General Emergency Plan, approved by the Board of Directors in Agreement No. 005-01-2022 on January 12, 2022, maintains investment plans in various stages of execution since the start of the reconstruction phase provided for in article 30, paragraph c), of Law No. 8488.

The covered cantons

The emergency covers fourteen cantons across four provinces:

• Alajuela: San Carlos, Río Cuarto, Upala, Los Chiles, and Guatuso.
• Cartago: Turrialba and Jiménez.
• Heredia: Sarapiquí.
• Limón: Limón, Pococí, Guácimo, Matina, Siquirres, and Talamanca.

Reconstruction, IBRD credit, and the Attorney General’s precedent

The extension seeks to preserve the funding for the works contemplated in the General Plan, approved by Law No. 10954, which ratifies Financing Agreement No. 9653-CR signed between the Republic and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for the Climate-Resilient Territorial Reconstruction and Development Program. The decree warns that, as these are disaster-related damages, a lack of attention due to absence of resources may lead to an accumulation of damage or risk and necessitates the updating of data, proposals, and cost calculations.

In this sense, the text cites Opinion C-131-2015 of June 3, 2015, from the Attorney General’s Office, according to which the cessation of the emergency depends on the completion of the phases and not on a deadline: leaving pending actions without funding solely due to the passage of five years would prevent the completion of the reconstruction.

Article 2 of the decree orders the CNE to submit a new report before the expiration of this extension, so that the Executive Branch may assess the definitive cessation of the state of emergency in accordance with Article 37 of Law No. 8488.

With the signing of Executive Decree No. 45975-MP, the cantons affected by the July 2021 storm maintain for five more years the exceptional treatment of necessity and urgency, which allows the State to contract and execute reconstruction works with greater agility and prevents pending balances from returning to the National Emergency Fund as long as unfinished projects exist.

Source: La Gaceta No. 215, Thursday, November 12, 2026, Executive Branch section — Decrees, pp. 2-3 (official reference: D45975, IN202601138670).