Juan del Grijalva is a small village (approx. 416 inhabitant

in the

Mexican state The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named Mexico, United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a sepa ...

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

. It is part of the Municipality of

Ostuacán Ostuacán is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. In 2010, the municipality had a total population of 17,067, up from 17,026 in 2005. It covers an area of 946.4 km². In 2010, the town of Ostuacán had ...

and is located in the north end of the state on the banks of the

Grijalva River Grijalva River, formerly known as ''Tabasco River'', ( es, Río Grijalva, known locally also as Río Grande de Chiapas, Río Grande and Mezcalapa River) is a long river in southeastern Mexico."Grijalva." ''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Diction ...

, between the

Peñitas Dam The Peñitas Dam, also known as ''Ángel Albino Corzo'', is a dam with a hydro-electric power station on the river Rio Grijalva, 83 km south west of the city of Villahermosa, lying in the municipality of Ostuacán in the state of Chiapas in ...

and the

Malpaso Dam The Malpaso Dam, officially known as the Nezahualcóyotl Dam, is located in the Centro region of Chiapas, Mexico near the border with Tabasco and Veracruz. It was the first of several major dams built on the Grijalva River to generate hydroelectri ...

. On November 5, 2007 a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

from an adjacent hill fell on the Grijalva River, causing a

wave In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (res ...

of 50 meters of height that struck the town and destroyed all its buildings. 17°21′51″N, 93°23′00″W

External links

Mudslide adds to Mexico flood woes
(BBC News)
In pictures: Mexico landslide
(BBC News)
En Chiapas, una ola de 50 metros arrasa un pueblo
''(Milenio)'' {{Chiapas Populated places in Chiapas