After Texas, Flash Floods Hit New Mexico: Three Missing, House Swept Away

(MENAFN- Live Mint) A heavy downpour on Tuesday triggered flash floods in a mountain village in southern New Mexico, a well-known summer retreat, leaving three people missing. An entire house was swept away by the rising floodwaters.

The floods occurred only days after flash floods in Texas resulted in more than 100 deaths and left over 160 people missing.

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Danielle Silva from the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said that rescue teams performed no fewer than 85 rapid water rescues in the Ruidoso region, including of individuals who were stuck inside their residences and vehicles.

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No fatalities were reported, but Silva mentioned that the full scale of the damage would not be clear until the floodwaters receded.

'This one hit us harder' than expected

During a radio address on Tuesday, Ruidoso Mayor Lynn D Crawford said,“We knew that we were going to have floods ... and this one hit us harder than what we were expecting.”

Crawford mentioned that several individuals were transported to the hospital, though the precise number was not immediately known. He urged residents to contact an emergency hotline if their family members or neighbours were unaccounted for.

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In New Mexico, authorities advised residents to move to higher ground on Tuesday afternoon as the waters of the Rio Ruidoso level climbed nearly 19 feet (2.7 meters) within minutes amid intense rainfall. The National Weather Service issued flood alerts for the region, which had been stripped of vegetation due to recent wildfires.

A flood gauge operated by the weather service, along with an accompanying video camera, showed the turbulent waters of the Rio Ruidoso spilling over the riverbanks into the nearby forest. Roads and bridges were shut down in response.

Also Read | Trump to visit flood-hit Texas on Friday amid uproar over forecasting failures

Kaitlyn Carpenter, an artist living in Ruidoso, was riding her motorcycle through town Tuesday afternoon when the storm intensified, prompting her to take refuge at the riverside Downshift Brewing Company along with about 50 others. She began recording debris flowing down the Rio Ruidoso river when she noticed a house drifting by with a distinctive turquoise door. It was the home of the family of one of her closest friends.

She said her friend's family was not inside the house and was safe.

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According to Silva, two National Guard rescue teams, along with several local teams, were already present in the area when the flooding started, and additional Guard teams were anticipated.

The region has been particularly susceptible to flooding since the summer of 2024, when the South Fork and Salt fires swept through the parched forest, destroying roughly 1,400 homes and buildings. Residents had to escape a wall of fire, only to face severe flooding later that same summer.

“We know that the water levels seemed to be higher than they were last summer. It is a significant amount of water flowing throughout, some of it in new areas that didn't flood last year," Silva said.

(With inputs from AP)

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