Emergency preparedness in Costa Rica: official guidance

Short answer. In Costa Rica, civil preparedness is led by the National Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Response (CNE), which declares alerts on a four-colour scale: green, yellow, orange and red ³. The CNE asks every household to keep a light, waterproof emergency case ready for evacuation ¹. For any emergency, call 9-1-1 ²⁵. Facts on these pages were verified on 2026-10-20.

Who is responsible for civil preparedness in Costa Rica?

The Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de Emergencias (CNE) is the national emergency and risk agency and the body that declares alerts ³. It works through two local levels ²:

• Municipal Emergency Committees (Comités Municipales de Emergencias, CME), run through each municipality and coordinated by the mayor.
• Community emergency committees, closest to households.

Emergency calls are handled by the Sistema de Emergencias 9-1-1, attached to the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) ⁵. The legal framework is the National Emergency and Risk Prevention Law, Ley 8488 ⁴.

What is on each page?

• Emergency supplies: the CNE emergency case (maletín para emergencia). No overall duration is set; medicines for people with a medical condition must cover at least 72 hours, and water is listed as one half-litre bottle ¹.
• Kit: the official CNE list, item by item, including its first-aid contents ¹².
• Public shelters: Costa Rica has no blast or fallout shelters. Albergues are temporary evacuation shelters opened by municipal emergency committees ¹²⁴.
• Alerts: the four CNE alert colours, local tsunami sirens on part of the Pacific coast, and university apps. No government cell-broadcast system was found ³.
• Iodine: Costa Rica publishes no official guidance on potassium iodide.
• Build a shelter: no law, permit or declaration requirement for private shelters was found; Ley 8488 does not deal with them ⁴.
• Emergency contacts: 9-1-1, plus the CNE switchboard for non-emergency questions ²³⁵.

Costa Rica publishes no technical standard or approval scheme for protective shelters, so there is no shelter standards page for this country.

Is there a national preparedness booklet?

Yes. The CNE's Guía para la Elaboración del Plan Familiar de Gestión del Riesgo (Guide to preparing a family risk management plan) walks families through six steps: meeting, diagnosis, plan, drills, response and evaluation. Its Annex 2 contains the emergency-case list ¹. The CNE library files it as "Plan familiar de GR 2019"; the copy read for this site carries no printed date.

Where do I start?

Save 9-1-1 and your municipality's contact (emergency contacts), learn what each alert colour means (alerts), then pack the emergency case (kit). Ask your municipal or community emergency committee where an albergue would open in your area, and write it into your family plan ¹. For a household plan, see /guides/family-plan. For specific hazards, see /guides/earthquake-preparedness, /guides/tsunami, /guides/flood-preparedness and /guides/volcanic-ash.

Frequently asked questions

Who handles emergencies in Costa Rica?

The CNE coordinates risk management and emergency response nationally, through municipal and community emergency committees ². It is also the body that declares alerts ³.

What is the emergency number in Costa Rica?

9-1-1 is the single number for all emergencies. The CNE tells people to report any incident there ²⁵.

Does Costa Rica send emergency alerts to phones?

No government cell-broadcast or SMS alert system was found in official sources. See alerts for the apps and sirens that do exist ³.

Does Costa Rica have public bomb shelters?

No. Costa Rica's albergues are temporary evacuation shelters, not protective shelters ¹⁴.

Sources

1. Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de Emergencias (CNE) — Guía para la Elaboración del Plan Familiar de Gestión del Riesgo (Plan Familiar de Gestión de Riesgo) — https://moravia.go.cr/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/plan-familiar-17-19-CM.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20; CNE 2019 edition hosted by the Municipality of Moravia, also at https://www.cne.go.cr/reduccion_riesgo/biblioteca/planes/documentos/Plan%20familiar%20de%20GR%202019.pdf)
2. Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de Emergencias (CNE) — Preguntas frecuentes — https://www.cne.go.cr/contactenos/preguntas_frecuentes.aspx (accessed 2026-10-20; read via Web Archive capture of 19 June 2024)
3. Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de Emergencias (CNE) — Alertas — https://www.cne.go.cr/preparativos_respuestas/alertas.aspx (accessed 2026-10-20; read via Web Archive capture of 19 Feb 2024)
4. Asamblea Legislativa de Costa Rica (texto SINALEVI) — Ley Nacional de Emergencias y Prevención del Riesgo N° 8488 — https://www.teatronacional.go.cr/transparency/files/703_ley8488_leynacionaldeemergenciasyprevencindelriesgo.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
5. Sistema de Emergencias 9-1-1 (ICE) — Sistema de Emergencias 9-1-1 – La llamada más importante de su vida — https://www.911.go.cr/ (accessed 2026-10-20)