Flash floods in New Mexico resort town kill 3, trap dozens
LOS ANGELES : Torrential rains triggered flash floods in New Mexico that killed at least three people yesterday, including two young children, and trapped dozens in homes and vehicles in the resort village of Ruidoso, a state emergency official and a village statement said.
The children, aged four and seven years old, and a man were swept downstream and later found dead, the mountain resort village said late yesterday on its website, adding that rescue operations were underway.
Dramatic video footage on social media and various news outlets showed an entire house, ripped from its foundations, careening downstream through the brown, muddy waters of the flood-engorged Rio Ruidoso, side-swiping trees as it went.
'I've seen the video. We don't know if anyone was in the house,' said Danielle Silva, a spokesman for the New Mexico department of homeland security and emergency management.
Emergency teams organised by local law enforcement and the national guard conducted at least 85 swift-water rescues in and around Ruidoso, many of them people stranded in cars and homes by elevated flood waters, Silva said.
Silva said the river had quickly risen by a provisional record of 6.2m at the peak of the flood, and as waters began to recede in the evening, authorities began searching for survivors in the debris.
The latest floods come just four days after a deadly flash flood triggered by heavy rains along the Guadalupe River killed at least 109 people and left scores missing after ravaging a swathe of Texas Hill Country.
In New Mexico, Silva said the severity of the debris flow was heightened by a flame-scarred landscape stripped of vegetation in a wildfire which was then followed by flooding that eroded the soil.
Ruidoso, a popular summer retreat as well as ski resort nestled in the Sierra Blanca mountain range of south-central New Mexico, is located about 185km south of Albuquerque, the state's largest city.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
24 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
Five dead, one missing as flash flood sweeps through northern Vietnam
HANOI, July 29 — A weekend flash flood in Vietnam's mountainous north killed five people, authorities said Tuesday, while another person remains missing after the deluge. Heavy rains triggering flash floods were reported Saturday night in Son La province, destroying 22 houses, damaging scores more and forcing dozens of families to evacuate, the agriculture ministry said Tuesday. Three bodies were recovered on Monday, a ministry statement said, adding to two others already found dead in the aftermath, with the search for another person still continuing. More than 180 hectares of crops and 2,600 cattle and poultry were also swept away. Vietnam is prone to tropical storms, which often cause deadly flash floods and landslides. Human-driven climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely. Last week, Tropical Storm Wipha killed three people and flooded nearly 4,000 homes in the country's central Nghe An province. A sudden whirlwind and abnormal weather pattern overturned a tourist boat in Vietnam's Unesco area of Ha Long Bay July 19, killing 39 people, including several children. And in September 2024, Typhoon Yagi devastated northern Vietnam, leaving 345 people dead and causing an estimated economic loss of US$3.3 billion (RM14 billion). — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
18 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Floods in Romania kill 1, hundreds evacuated
Romania's environment ministry said some rivers saw record high water levels. (EPA Images pic) BUCHAREST : Severe overnight floods in eastern Romania killed one person and damaged thousands of homes, with hundreds of people evacuated and three helicopters searching for stranded villagers, officials said today. Some 25 villages across nine counties were affected by heavy rain and high winds, which tore off roofs and uprooted trees, blocking traffic on some national roads, the emergency response agency said. The worst hit were Neamt and Suceava counties in eastern Romania, where two rivers burst their banks, killing a 66-year-old man and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate. All access roads to the village of Brosteni in Suceava county were blocked. The environment ministry's water management agency said some rivers saw record high water levels. Repair works on collapsed bridges were underway, it said.
Free Malaysia Today
18 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
School roof collapse in India leaves at least 4 children dead
Police said that the school was old and the roof might have caved in due to heavy rainfall. (EPA Images pic) NEW DELHI : At least four children were killed and 17 injured in India's western state of Rajasthan after the roof of a school building collapsed today, local media reported, with dozens still feared trapped under the rubble. A local police officer, who declined to be named, told Reuters the school building was old and the roof might have fallen in as a result of heavy rainfall in the region. 'There were 25-30 children in the room when the roof fell after the morning prayers,' Rajasthan education minister, Madan Dilawar, told AajTak news channel. Visuals from news channels showed locals gathered around the site of the collapse. Distressed family members could be heard crying as authorities used a crane to remove the debris. Local media reported that 32 students had been pulled out safely, but rescue operations were ongoing. 'Instructions have been given to the concerned authorities to ensure proper treatment for the injured children,' Rajasthan chief minister Bhajanlal Sharma said on X. Some of the injured children were critical, local police officer Amit Kumar told the PTI news agency, according to the Economic Times newspaper.
