At least three dead in New Mexico flash flooding

At least three people are dead in the village of Ruidoso, New Mexico after heavy rain caused flash flooding.

Up to 8.8cm (3.5in) of rain fell, causing the Ruidoso river to rise to an historic level. The floodwaters have now receded.

A man and two children died after being swept downstream, local officials confirmed on Tuesday evening.

The disaster comes after flooding in the neighbouring US state of Texas left at least 111 people dead, according to the latest toll published by US media. A further 161 people are still missing in one county alone, Governor Greg Abbott said on Tuesday.

In New Mexico, Ruidoso village spokesperson Kerry Gladden told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that search and rescue crews were still out in the field, and a hotline had been set up for people looking for missing family members.

Emergency crews in Ruidoso carried out at least 50 swift water rescues in the area, with residents urged to move to higher ground.

Three people had been treated for injuries at the local hospital, Ms Gladden said in a statement.

Social media footage captured by local artist Kaitlyn Carpenter showed at least one house being swept away by floodwaters, with Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford unable to confirm how many homes had been lost.

Speaking on a local radio station, Mr Crawford said: “It got ugly really quick”.

Newsportual Weather Service (NWS) had warned that two “burn scars” around Ruidoso were high risk for flash-flooding, as the charred soil left behind by last year’s wildfires would be “as water-repellent as a pavement”.

Southern New Mexico was hit by wildfires in June 2024. Ruidoso was evacuated as two fires burned approximately 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of land on either side of the village.

Two people were killed and hundreds of homes were destroyed.

Subsequent reports said that the risk of flash floods would be increased for at least two years due to the fires, and the likelihood of significant flooding events in the area was “dramatically increased”.

News of the flash flooding in New Mexico came just hours after Texas Governor Greg Abbott gave an update on the aftermath of last Friday’s floods in his own southern state.

He said at least 161 people were still missing in Kerr County alone, some four days after devastating flash floods in his own state.

The missing include five campers and a counsellor from Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls summer camp located on the banks of the Guadalupe River.

More than 90 of the at least 111 people known to have died in the disaster, according to Us media reports, were in the Kerrville area.