Publication Date November 23, 2016 | Los Angeles Times via Associated Press

Hurricane Otto bears down on Central America unusually late in season

Panama
Panamanian civil defense workers view a mudslide that destroyed a home and killed the couple inside in Arraijan, on the outskirts of Panama City on Tuesday. Photo: Associated Press
Panamanian civil defense workers view a mudslide that destroyed a home and killed the couple inside in Arraijan, on the outskirts of Panama City on Tuesday. Photo: Associated Press

An unusually late-season Hurricane Otto swirled over the Caribbean just off Central America on Wednesday and headed toward landfall in Nicaragua after regaining strength.

Heavy rains from the storm were blamed for three deaths in Panama, and officials in Costa Rica ordered the evacuation of 4,000 people from its Caribbean coast.