RUIDOSO, N.M. (TNND) — At least three people are dead in a New Mexico mountain village after monsoon rains triggered historic flash flooding on Tuesday.
The village of Ruidoso said in a news release that a man and two children were “swept downstream by the unprecedented floodwaters that struck the area.”
Officials added that the catastrophic flooding saw the Rio Ruidoso rise to a record-breaking 20 feet, which is five feet higher than the previous record.
Video showed a home being carried away by the water after it rose from two feet to 20 feet in just 30 minutes.
“Our hearts are broken for the families who have lost their loved ones in this terrible tragedy,” Mayor Lynn Crawford said in a statement. “The entire Village of Ruidoso extends our deepest sympathy and compassion to these grieving families during this unimaginably difficult time. We are united in our sorrow and our commitment to supporting one another as we face this devastating loss together.”
Emergency crews conducted around 60 swift-water rescues during the flooding, officials reported.
The area has been especially vulnerable to flooding since the summer of 2024, when the South Fork and Salt fires raced across tinder-dry forest and destroyed an estimated 1,400 homes and structures. Residents were forced to flee a wall of flames, only to grapple with intense flooding later that summer.
Matt DeMaria, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, told The Associated Press that storms formed in the early afternoon over terrain that was scorched last year by wildfire. The burn scar was unable to absorb a lot of the rain, as water quickly ran downhill into the river.
The floods came several days after flash floods in Texas killed over 100 people and left more than 160 missing in one county.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an emergency declaration Tuesday night, mobilizing all state resources and asking for federal resources.
“New Mexico is mobilizing every resource we have, but Ruidoso needs federal support to recover from this disaster,” she said in her statement. “We’ve watched Texas receive the federal resources they desperately needed, and Ruidoso deserves that same urgent response.”
The village asked for privacy for the families affected by the deadly flooding.
