New Mexico floods latest: Adult and two children confirmed dead as house swept away in flash floods

Hello and welcome to The Indepedent’s live coverage of the flash flooding that has struck southern New Mexico, days after a similar disaster led to multiple fatalities in Texas.

New Mexico was hit by severe flash flooding triggered by monsoon rains on Tuesday, leaving at least three people missing from the mountain village of Ruidoso and causing a house to be swept downstream.

The Rio Ruidoso’s water levels rose from less than three feet to a crest of 20.24 feet in under an hour as a result of the heavy downpour, according to the National Weather Service.

Emergency crews have so far carried out at least 85 swift water rescues in the vicinity, 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.

Two National Guard rescue teams and several local teams already were in the area when the flooding began, Silva said, and more Guard teams were expected.

No deaths were immediately reported but three people have been taken to the hospital and were in stable condition, according to Kerry Gladden, public information officer for Ruidoso.

Here’s Gustaf Kilander’s report.

Mayor of Ruidoso Lynn Crawford told the press earlier that a father and two children are missing in the floods, although it is currently unclear whether these are the same three people alluded to by the National Weather Service in its initial alerts.

“We are still looking for some folks,” Mayor Crawford said on local radio.

“If you're at home, stay at home,” he told residents, adding that the disaster “got ugly really quick” and that he has appealed to President Donald Trump for federal support in dealing with the calamity.

As the floodwaters recede, the full extent of the damage is still being assessed in the mountain village.

This video of the aforementioned house being carried away by the waters has to be seen to be believed:

Here’s more from Rich Booth.

Here’s what the Albuquerque office of the NWS has said about the disaster:

Kaitlyn Carpenter, an artist in Ruidoso who filmed the runaway house video, was reportedly riding her motorcycle through town Tuesday afternoon when the storm started to pick up and she sought shelter at the riverside Downshift Brewing Company with about 50 other people.

She started to film debris rushing down the Rio Ruidoso when she spotted a house float by with a familiar turquoise door. It belonged to the family of one of her best friends.

Her friend’s family was not in the house and is safe, she said.

“I’ve been in that house and have memories in that house, so seeing it come down the river was just pretty heartbreaking,” Carpenter said. ‘I just couldn’t believe it.”

The sight brought back painful memories for Carpenter, whose own art studio was swept away during a flood last year.

Outside, the air smelled of gasoline, and loud crashes could be heard as the river knocked down trees in its path.

“It’s pretty terrifying,” she said.

Three shelters have opened in the Ruidoso area for people who cannot currently return home.

Cory State, who works at the Downshift Brewing Company, says he welcomed in dozens of residents as the river surged and hail pelted the windows.

The house floating by was “just one of the many devastating things about today,” he said.

The following statement has just been issued:

“The Village of Ruidoso confirms that three people have tragically lost their lives as a result of the historic flash flooding that swept through the community on July 8, 2025. The victims were swept downstream by the unprecedented floodwaters that struck the area.

“The fatalities include:

• 40-50-year-old male
• 4-year-old female
• 7-year-old male

“All three individuals were caught in the rushing floodwaters and carried downstream during the catastrophic flooding event that saw the Rio Ruidoso rise to a record-breaking 20 feet – five feet higher than the previous record.

“‘Our hearts are broken for the families who have lost their loved ones in this terrible tragedy,’ said Mayor Lynn Crawford.

“‘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.’”

You can read the statement in its entirety here.

The National Weather Service has warned that the west end of the racetrack at Ruidoso Downs was “compromised” by the floodwaters, raising concerns for the horses stabled there, a fear also alluded to by Mayor Crawford in his radio address.

Unverified footage posted to the Ruidoso Community Support Facebook page showed flooded stables as other contributors to the page called for assistance in evacuating the animals.

The venue had been due to host races this weekend but these will obviously now not take place.

“We knew that we were going to have floods... and this one hit us harder than what we were expecting,” Mayor Crawford said.

The area has been especially vulnerable to flooding since the summer of 2024, when the South Fork and Salt wildfires 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,” said Danielle Silva of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

“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 yesterday’s 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.

Here’s Alicja Hagopian’s map of the latest natural disaster to strike the southern United States:

This image from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) illustrates just how rapidly the river’s water levels soared over the course of just 30 minutes yesterday afternoon.