Hurricane Otto causes deaths in Costa Rica, number unknown

Hurricane Otto has caused an unknown number of deaths since hitting Central America, Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis said late on Thursday.

Otto slammed into the coast of Central America near the border of Nicaragua and Costa Rica earlier on Thursday, dumping torrential rains on the region and prompting thousands of people to be evacuated.

"I regret to inform (you) ... that there are people dead and missing," Solis told a news conference, adding it was too early to say how many people had died.

The 7.0 magnitude quake, initially reported as a magnitude 7.2, was very shallow at 10.3 kilometres below the seabed, which would have amplified its effect.

Its epicenter was located some 149 km south-southwest of Puerto Triunfo in El Salvador, according to the US Geological Survey.