Overview

• Floodwaters rose nearly 20 feet within an hour, cresting at a provisional record of 20.24 feet and sweeping away entire houses.
• More than 85 swift-water rescues were conducted by National Guard and local crews to free residents trapped in homes and vehicles.
• No fatalities have been reported, with displaced families housed in multiple refuge centers across Ruidoso.
• Search teams continue combing rising debris for a father and two children carried off by the flood’s currents.
• Officials say burn scars from June 2024 wildfires stripped vegetation, funnelling monsoon downpours into the swollen river.