It doesn't matter if you've lived in Dominical for twenty years or arrived yesterday. If you're crossing the road at the Barú River mouth and the river is up, you are not getting through.
I built the Barú Flood Index for everyone who crosses that road. And that turns out to be a lot of people.
Guests arriving at River Soul who just landed in San José, rented a car, and are three hours into a drive they've never done before. They don't know what a flooded river crossing looks like. They don't know to check. Nobody told them.
Surfers heading to Dominical who drove down from Quepos in the dark and hit the crossing at 5am with no context for what the water level means or how fast it can change.
Expats and locals who know this road better than anyone and still get caught — because the Barú moves fast. You can drive through at noon and the road can be gone by 3pm. That's not an exaggeration. That's October.
Families visiting the area who are not used to tropical rivers, have no reference point for what HIGH risk looks like, and need something that just tells them plainly: not today.
The Barú Flood Index was built for all of them. One number. Color-coded. No weather jargon. If it's green you're probably fine. If it's red, take Río Lindo or wait.
There's also a WhatsApp alert group for the community — people on the ground who report conditions in real time, and automatic alerts when the index spikes. Because the best flood warning system is still the one where neighbors tell neighbors.
Check current conditions + join alerts →