Three missing and house swept away as flash flooding hits mountain village in US
No deaths were immediately reported, but three people had been taken to the hospital and were in stable condition.
At least three people were missing in a mountain village in southern New Mexico after monsoon rains triggered flash flooding on Tuesday that was so intense an entire house was swept downstream.
Emergency crews carried out at least 85 swift water rescues in the Ruidoso area, including of people who were trapped in their homes and cars, said Danielle Silva of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
No deaths were immediately reported, but three people had been taken to the hospital and were in stable condition, according to Kerry Gladden, public information officer for Ruidoso, a popular summer retreat.
The water had receded by Tuesday night and search and rescue and swift water rescue teams were scouring the town for the missing people, while public works crews cleared debris from the roadways. Some cars were left stranded in the mud.
Two National Guard rescue teams and several local teams were in the area when the flooding began, Ms Silva said, and more Guard teams were expected.
The floods came just days after flash floods in Texas killed more than 100 people and left more than 160 people missing.
In New Mexico, officials urged residents to seek higher ground on Tuesday afternoon as the waters of the Rio Ruidoso rose nearly 19 feet in a matter of minutes amid heavy rainfall. The National Weather Service issued flood warnings in the area, which was stripped of vegetation by recent wildfires.
A weather service flood gauge and companion video camera showed churning waters of the Rio Ruidoso surge over the river’s banks into surrounding forest. Streets and bridges were closed in response.
During a radio address on Tuesday night, Ruidoso mayor Lynn D Crawford encouraged residents to call an emergency line if their loved ones or neighbours were missing. He also said there were reports of dead horses near the town’s horse racing track.
“We knew that we were going to have floods… and this one hit us harder than what we were expecting,” Ms Crawford said.
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.
“We know that the water levels seemed to be higher than they were last summer,” Ms Silva said.
“It is a significant amount of water flowing throughout, some of it in new areas that didn’t flood last year.”
Matt DeMaria, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, said 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.
Preliminary measurements show the Rio Ruidoso crested at more than 20 feet — a record high if confirmed — and was receding on Tuesday evening.
Three shelters opened in the Ruidoso area for people who could not return home.
