New Mexico | A house swept away by the waves

(Santa Fe) On Tuesday, flood waters trapped residents of a New Mexico mountain village in their homes and cars. The monsoon rains sparked sudden floods and an entire house was swept away by the current.

Emergency teams have carried out at least 85 live water resumes in the Ruidoso region, including people stuck in their homes and cars, said Danielle Silva, the Department of Internal Security and Emergency Management in New Mexico.

These floods caused the death of at least three people, including two young children.

The victims are a four -year -old girl, a seven -year -old boy and an adult between 40 and 50 years old, detailed the authorities of Ruidoso.

“The three people were taken in flood waters and carried downstream during the catastrophic flood which saw the Rio Ruidoso rise to a record level of 20 feet (6 meters), five feet (1.5 m) more than the previous record,” said the city.

The authorities urged the inhabitants to take refuge in the afternoon, because the waters of the Rio Ruidoso rose almost 2.7 m in a few minutes under the effect of heavy rains. The national meteorological service has issued alerts in the area, already devastated by recent forest fires. A flood indicator of meteorological services and a video camera showed the agitated waters of the Rio Ruidoso surge on the banks of the river and spill into the surrounding forest. The streets and bridges were closed accordingly.

Kaitlyn Carpenter, artist in Ruidoso, crossed the city on Moto Tuesday afternoon when the storm started to intensify. She took refuge in the Downshift Brewing Company brewery, located by the river, with fifty other people. She began to film the debris hitting Rio Ruidoso when she saw a floating house with a turquoise door that seemed familiar to her. She belonged to the family of one of her best friends.

Her friend’s family was not in the house and is healthy and saved, she said.

“I visited this house and I have memories, so seeing it hit the river was really overwhelming,” said M^me Carpenter. I couldn’t believe it. »»

Two National Guard rescue teams and several local teams were already on site when the floods started, said M^me Silva. Other national guard teams were expected. The region has been particularly vulnerable to floods since the summer of 2024, when the South Fork and Salt fires have ravaged a dry forest and destroyed around 1,400 houses and structures. Residents had to flee a wall of flames before facing strong floods later that summer.

“We know that water levels seemed higher than last summer,” said^me Silva. This is a large amount of water that flows, in part in new areas that had not been flooded last year. »»

Matt Demaria, a meteorologist at the National Meteorological Service of Albuquerque, said that thunderstorms were formed in the early afternoon on land ravaged by fires last year. The burned area could not stop a large part of the rain, the water flowing quickly to the river.

Preliminary measures show that the Rio Ruidoso has reached a six-meter crest above its usual level-a record if confirmed-and that it was back on Tuesday evening. Three shelters opened in the Ruidoso region for people who could not go home.

This show recalled painful memories to M^me Carpenter, whose art workshop was swept away by a flood last year. Outside, the air felt the essence and we heard violent crashes when the river fell trees in its path.

Cory State, who works at the Downshift brewery, welcomed dozens of inhabitants while the river was breaking and the hail fell on the windows. The floating house was “only one of the many devastating events of the day,” he said.