Landslides in North America

Tropical Storm Matthew was a weak but deadly and destructive tropical cyclone which made landfall in Central America during the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. The fifteenth tropical cyclone and thirteenth named storm of the year, Matthew formed on September 23 and lost its tropical characteristics in the morning of September 26. However, its remnants continued to produce life-threatening rain over parts of Central America as it dissipated.

A moment magnitude 6.3–6.4 earthquake affected southeastern Mexico, in the states of Puebla and Veracruz, on 3 January 1920 at 22:25 local time. A maximum Mercalli-Cancani intensity of XI–XII (Extreme) was recorded in the epicenter, between Chilchotla and Patlanalán. While estimates of the death toll vary across different sources, ranging from 648 to 4,000 fatalities, it is the second deadliest earthquake in Mexico, behind another earthquake in 1985 that killed more than 9,000 people. Many people died from mudslides that swept through settlements along the Huitzilapa and Pescado rivers. The cost of damage was estimated at US$25,000,000 (equivalent to $392,400,300 in 2024). The towns of Patlanalá, Barranca Grande, Cosautlán, Quimixtlán, Teocelo and Xalapa were severely affected, as many buildings were damaged or destroyed.

On October 1, 2015, heavy rains triggered a major landslide in the village of El Cambray Dos within Santa Catarina Pinula, Guatemala—15 km (9.3 mi) east of Guatemala City, killing at least 280 people and leaving dozens unaccounted for across the village. The landslide leveled much of the village, leaving some areas under 15 m (49 ft) of earth and debris.

The 2009 El Salvador floods and mudslides occurred November 6–9 affecting areas including San Salvador, La Paz, Cuscatlan, Usulutan and San Vicente. The disaster was triggered by a low-pressure system from the Pacific, and flooding from heavy rains caused mud and rock slides that killed approximately 130 people and left 60 missing.

The January 2001 El Salvador earthquake struck El Salvador on January 13, 2001, at 17:33:34 UTC. The moment magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck with the epicenter 60 miles (100 km) SW of San Miguel, El Salvador (13.04°N 88.66°W) at a depth of 60 km (31 mi).