A huge mudslide engulfed dozens of homes in Guatemala's Maya Indian highlands, killing 40 people as rains and flash floods from Hurricane Stan devastated Central America and southern Mexico.
The tragedy struck two indigenous hamlets in the municipality of Santiago Atitlan, a popular destination for US and European tourists, injuring some 300 people, local government officials said.
There were no immediate reports of foreigners killed. With the new victims, 216 people have now died in floods and mudslides in Central America and southern Mexico in the last few days following Hurricane Stan.
The tragedy brought back memories of Hurricane Mitch, which killed some 10,000 people in Central America in 1998, mainly in Honduras and Nicaragua, with mudslides and flooding.
An unknown number of foreigners were trapped at the Guatemalan resort of Panajachel, also on Lake Atitlan. "The area was cut off by mudslides. We understand there are a good number of tourists there," Defence Minister Carlos Aldana said at an airfield in Guatemala City.
Guatemala confirmed 124 deaths and said the toll would probably rise. There were at least 65 dead in El Salvador, 13 in Mexico, 10 in Nicaragua and four in Honduras.
Troops across Central America and southern Mexico tried to reach flooded areas with drinking water, food and medical kits, but relentless rains and washed out roads made it difficult.
Meteorologists predicted the rains would continue for the rest of the week.
The flooding came from storms sparked by Hurricane Stan, which smashed into Mexico from the Atlantic earlier this week. Stan quickly weakened but days of rains swelled normally slow rivers into thundering, brown torrents that swept away bridges, houses, roads and trees across the region.
Around 2,500 homes were destroyed in Mexico's bustling southern city of Tapachula, on the border with Guatemala. Entire neighborhoods were deep in water and families spent the night on roofs, waiting to be rescued.