At least three people are missing after monsoon rains triggered flooding that swept away homes and vehicles in a mountain village in the US state of New Mexico.
Emergency crews carried out at least 85 swift water rescues in the Ruidoso area on Tuesday, local time, including people who were trapped in their homes and cars, according to Danielle Silva from 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.
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.
Officials earlier urged residents to seek higher ground in the afternoon as the waters of the Rio Ruidoso rose nearly 2.7 metres in a matter of minutes amid heavy rainfall.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued flood warnings in the area, which was stripped of nearby vegetation by recent wildfires.
In a warning listed on the NWS website at 3:30pm, the agency reported that it had received footage of a house floating down a river.
At 3:45pm, it reported that a "father and two children" had been washed away, and emergency crews were "in pursuit" to respond. Ten minutes later, the NWS said multiple other rescues were underway at the Gavilan Trailer Park, where homes were "starting to be moved by water".
By 5:25pm, the weather agency reported that an adult and two children were "trapped and needing rescue via LMTV" — a Light Medium Tactical Vehicle.
A weather service flood gauge and companion video camera showed earlier that churning waters of the Rio Ruidoso had surged over the river's banks into the surrounding forest. Streets and bridges were closed in response.
Kaitlyn Carpenter, an artist in Ruidoso, was riding her motorcycle through town on 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 floating 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.
[Ruidoso map]"I've been in that house and have memories in that house, so seeing it come down the river was just pretty heartbreaking," Ms Carpenter told The Associated Press.
"I just couldn't believe it."
Two National Guard rescue teams and several local teams were already in the area when the flooding began, Ms Silva said, and more teams were expected.
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," the mayor 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 NWS 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 6 metres above its ordinary level — a record high if confirmed — and was receding by Tuesday evening.
Three shelters opened in the Ruidoso area for people who could not return home.
The sight brought back painful memories for Ms Carpenter, whose art studio was swept away during a flood last year. Outside, the air smelled of petrol, and loud crashes could be heard as the river knocked down trees in its path, she said.
Cory State, who works at the Downshift Brewing Company, 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 emergency in New Mexico was occurring just days after flash flooding killed more than 100 people over the July Fourth holiday weekend in the adjacent state of Texas.
More than 160 people are believed to still be missing there in the aftermath of the flooding, according to Governor Greg Abbott.
"We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for," Mr Abbott said in a press conference on Tuesday.
ABC/AP
