Monsoon thunderstorms on Tuesday sent the Rio Ruidoso in southern New Mexico surging more than 20 feet in roughly half an hour, eclipsing its previous record and prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flash-flood emergency for the resort village of Ruidoso. Village officials said a man and two children, aged four and seven, were swept downstream and killed. Emergency crews, including National Guard teams already in the area, carried out at least 85 swift-water rescues as floodwaters trapped residents in homes and vehicles and uprooted an entire house captured on widely shared video. Three other people were hospitalised and search teams continued to check debris fields after waters receded late Tuesday. The severity of the flood was amplified by burn scars left by last year’s South Fork and Salt wildfires, which stripped vegetation and limited the ground’s ability to absorb the 1.5–3.5 inches of sudden rainfall. A provisional gauge reading put the river’s crest at 20.24 feet, five feet above the 2024 high mark. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an emergency declaration and requested federal assistance, while local authorities opened three shelters, closed several roads and warned that additional storms under an ongoing flood watch could trigger more flash flooding. Tuesday’s disaster is the second year in a row that Ruidoso has faced deadly floods and comes days after historic flooding in neighbouring Texas. Officials urged residents to remain alert as the summer monsoon season continues.