Heavy rains caused flash floods in New Mexico on Tuesday, resulting in three deaths, including two young children, while dozens of homes and vehicles were trapped in the resort village of Ruidoso, reported Reuters, citing a state emergency official and a village statement.
Here are the top 10 updates from flash floods in New Mexico
1. A flash flood emergency was declared in Ruidoso, New Mexico, on Tuesday amid heavy rainfall that caused an entire house to be swept downstream.
2. By Tuesday night, the water had receded and search and rescue operations began, while public works crews cleared debris from the roadways.
3. Two children, aged four and seven, along with a man, were swept downstream and were found dead later in the mountain resort village, the report said.
4. According to an Instagram post shared by BBC, visuals emerged online showing an entire house uprooted from its foundations, careening downstream through the muddy waters amid the flash floods in Ruidoso, sideswiping trees along the way.
Watch video here:
5. Speaking about the video, Danielle Silva, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, told Reuters, “I’ve seen the video. We don’t know if anyone was in the house.”
6. Emergency teams, coordinated by local law enforcement and the National Guard, carried out at least 85 swift-water rescue operations in Ruidoso and the surrounding areas. Silva stated that many of these involved people were stranded in cars and homes due to rising floodwaters.
7. Silva further informed that the river rapidly rose to a provisional peak of 20.24 feet (6.2 metres) during the flood. As the waters started to recede in the evening, authorities began searching the debris for survivors.
8. The recent floods struck just four days after a deadly flash flood caused by heavy rains along the Guadalupe River, resulting in at least 109 deaths, while several people went missing amid the destroyed parts of the Texas Hill Country.
9. In New Mexico, Silva explained that the intensity of the debris flow was increased due to a landscape scarred by flames and devoid of vegetation after a wildfire, which was then followed by flooding that caused erosion soil.
10. Ruidoso, a popular summer vacation location and ski resort situated in the Sierra Blanca mountain range of south-central New Mexico, is approximately 115 miles (185 km) south of Albuquerque, the largest city in the state.
