'It got ugly really quick': Three dead in wake of Ruidoso flash flood

Three people, including two children, are confirmed as deceased after heavy rains and flash flooding brought havoc to the Village of Ruidoso Tuesday.

"Ruidoso endured devastating wildfires and flooding last summer, and now catastrophic flooding is hitting this resilient community again," Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a written statement Tuesday night after signing an emergency declaration requesting federal resources to aid the community.

The National Weather Service initially issued a flash flood warning for the South Fork Burn Scar, in the mountains surrounding Ruidoso, at 3:18 p.m. A village spokesperson said the rains had stopped sometime before 5:30 p.m. and the waters soon began to recede.

The village said Wednesday that the Rio Ruidoso rose to a record-breaking 20 feet, exceeding a previous high mark of 15 feet.

The village confirmed three people – an adult male between 40 and 50 years in age, a 4-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy – were swept away in the "unprecedented" floodwaters.

Search and rescue efforts continued Wednesday, with the Ruidoso Community Center serving as a temporary shelter.

Video footage shared online showed high volume flooding, including a house floating down the Rio Ruidoso and water apparently flooding into stalls at Ruidoso Downs Racetrack and Casino.

During a 7 p.m. briefing on radio station KRUI, Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford said that, at its peak, the velocity and force of the floodwaters rivaled the flash floods that followed last summer's catastrophic South Fork fire.

Crawford said the rains began during a village council meeting and that flood conditions escalated rapidly: "It got ugly really quick."

The NWS office in Albuquerque posted on X that the Rio Ruidoso, which runs through the village, possibly reached a crest of 20.24 feet on Tuesday.

"If this is confirmed, it would be a record high crest (compared to last year's crest of 15.86 feet on July 20th)," the post stated.

At 9 p.m., electric utility PNM said 325 households were without power and that work crews were on scene restoring power even as area roads and bridges were being cleared of debris. Zia Natural Gas crews responded to a few gas leaks, including at the site where a home was washed away by floodwaters in video footage widely shared online and in news broadcasts.

On the radio, Crawford said most roads and bridges were open and traffic was moving. No fatalities had been reported, though there were reports that a small number of people were missing. The village did not immediately confirm reports that two children were among those unaccounted for.

Crawford warned of mudslide activity in some areas, including around Cedar Creek.

"We're just praying the water recedes," he said.

This is a developing story and may be updated.