High terrain in the northern parts of those countries severely disrupted the circulation of the storm, and Bret had weakened to a tropical depression before emerging over the extreme southwestern Caribbean Sea.

Though Bret was only a weak tropical storm at landfall, it caused extreme flooding and nearly 200 deaths as it moved through South America, mostly in Venezuela.

The capital, Caracas, received 4.72 in (120 mm) of rain over seven hours, resulting in widespread mudslides in the hills around the city that buried houses and carried away cars.

[nb 1] Volunteers and firefighters helped storm victims cope with the damage, while workers cleared roads to restore transportation.

[1] At the time of its classification, it was located along the 10th parallel north over the central Atlantic, about 1,150 mi (1,850 km) west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

With a very resilient high-pressure area to its north, the depression continued moving due west at an unusually low latitude for most of its existence.

[3] After the outflow increased and the circulation became better established, the NHC upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Bret early on August 5.

Early on August 6, Bret attained peak winds of 60 mph (97 km/h),[1] fueled by warm waters and increased banding around a central dense overcast.

[7] Despite the southerly inflow being disrupted by the mountainous terrain, Bret maintained its circulation while continuing westward,[8] passing just north of Venezuela's capital Caracas.

Around 08:00 UTC on August 8, the storm moved back onshore Venezuela near Morrocoy National Park in Falcón state.

[6] Later that day, the NHC noted that there was "little if any circulation left to this system", although the agency continued issuing advisory due to the storm's heavy rainfall.

This caused the structure to deteriorate, and on August 9 Bret weakened to tropical depression status with the circulation "practically dissipated", according to the NHC.

[11] The Hurricane Hunters had difficulty finding a closed circulation,[12] prompting the NHC to discontinue advisories at 15:00 UTC on August 9.

[11] By early on August 10, surface observations confirmed the presence of a low-level circulation, and the NHC re-issued advisories on the system.

Around 17:00 UTC on August 10, Bret made its final landfall in southern Nicaragua near Bahia Punta Gorda.

About 24 hours in advance of the storm, tropical cyclone warnings and watches were issued for the southern Lesser Antilles and Venezuela.

[18] The warning covered from Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua through the entirety of the Costa Rican coastline, as well as San Andrés island offshore.

[23] In Venezuela, boats were ordered to remain at port, while flights were canceled to Isla Margarita and Puerto la Cruz.

[27] According to the governor of Venezuela's capital district, local weather media expected the storm to only brush Caracas and surrounding areas; as a result, not all precautions were made.

[45] Striking eastern Venezuela, Bret produced wind gusts of 44 mph (71 km/h) in Guiria, near where the storm moved ashore.

[49] On the mainland, heavy rainfall caused damaging mudslides and flooding,[18] and entire houses buried in the middle of the night with little notice.

[36] The storm brought heavy rainfall and high seas to the east coast of Costa Rica,[15] as well as gusty winds.

[36] Overflown rivers and flooding forced about 1,700 people to evacuate by canoe, while some residents rode out the storm on the roofs of their homes.

[60] The storm knocked down trees near the capital San Salvador, temporarily leaving the city without power.

[57] Venezuela's then-president Ramón José Velásquez held an emergency meeting to respond to the Bret's heavy damage.

After the storm, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided US$50,000 in emergency spending, and UNICEF sent US$15,000 to buy oral rehydration salts.

[64] After the storm, the Nicaraguan government declared a state of disaster in the North and South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Regions, as well as Tisma in the Masaya Department.

[57] Relief efforts were coordinated by the Comité Nacional de Emergencia to provide aid to the affected storm victims.

In response, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UNDP sent US$70,000 in emergency aid, some of which to be used for fuel to transport medicine and food.

After Tropical Storm Gert struck in early September, various other countries sent additional money, food, medicine, and other goods.