The children, ages four and seven, were swept downstream by a flash flood after the Rio Ruidoso river rose to a record-setting 20 feet.

Sandbags protect a building in Ruidoso, New Mexico after floods swept through town in July of 2024. This week's floods rose significantly higher. Photo: The Washington Post

Flash flooding from torrential rain killed at least three people Tuesday afternoon and prompted dozens of rescues in the Ruidoso area of southern New Mexico, officials said — the same area devastated by two wildfires last year. A house was seen being carried downstream by the fast-moving water.

The two children were identified as Charlotte Trotter, 4, and Sebastian Trotter, 7, according to their aunt Tiffanie Wyatt. She said their father, Sebastian Trotter, a solder based at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, and their mother, Stephanie, both suffered serious injuries but survived and were receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Texas.

At least three people were killed by historic flash floods in a New Mexico mountain community that suffered devastating wildfires last year, officials said late Tuesday.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham was in Ruidoso on Thursday, July 10, 2025, where she reported federal funding will be coming.

As residents and businesspeople in Ruidoso assess the damage caused by heavy and dangerous flooding, others can find ways to help. Here is what to know.

A house with a turquoise door became a widely shared image of flooding in southern New Mexico when it was swept past a brewery that was designated a safe spot for anyone seeking higher ground.

The National Weather Service in Pueblo issued a flash flood warning Saturday evening for Costilla and Huerfano counties in southern Colorado. The impacted area is about 35 miles north of the New Mexico state line.