November 5, 2007 Tsunami: Juan DE Grijalva, Chiapas, Mexico
A tsunami caused by a landslide began at Juan DE Grijalva, Chiapas, Mexico on November 5, 2007 at 02:32 UTC. The water rose as high as 50 meters. It killed 19 people, counting the earthquake or eruption that caused it.
Where the waves reached
The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- November 5, 2007, 02:32 UTC
- Source
- Juan DE Grijalva, Chiapas, Mexico
- Cause
- Landslide
- Maximum water height
- 50 m (164.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- A lake or river, not the ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 16.850° N, 93.100° W
The toll
- Deaths
- 19 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Missing
- 6 with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Reference #13952:
Following a period of intense precipitations, on November 4, 2007, a catastrophic landslide took place in San Juan de Grijalva, a community located on the edge of the Grijalva river, near the Penitas dam, in the south-eastern province of Chiapas, Mexico. The landslide involved a volume of circa 50 Mm3 that blocked the Grijalva river covering a run-out distance of 800 m length along the main channel, and including a meander zone between 200 and 280 width. Following the initial movement, a 50 m wave was produced causing considerable damages to several houses and a church. According to official information, the aftermath was 19 deaths and 6 people missing.
After some days of intense precipitation, on November 4th 2007 at circa 20:32 hrs, a landslide took place on one of the slopes of the San Juan de Grijalva river, in the Ostuacan municipality, Chiapas, Mexico. Almost immediately after the movement, the river was blocked. Following the initial movement, a 50 m wave was produced causing upstream considerable damages to several houses and a church located in both, the right and left margins of the river. According to official information, the aftermath was 19 deaths and 6 people missing.
More
Every tsunami in 2007The 2000sTsunamis of MexicoThis day in weather historyAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 5991.