 "Watch | New Mexico flood video, house swept away by 200-foot wave in Rio Ruidoso River")
Flash floods have been wreaking havoc in parts of the southwestern US, with several people dead and missing in Texas. Now, reports of widespread inundation in New Mexico have surfaced, with dozens trapped in homes and vehicles as waters gush through streets.
Dramatic video footage on social media and various news outlets showed the house, ripped from its foundations, careening downstream through the brown, muddy waters of the flood-engorged Rio Ruidoso, side-swiping trees as it went.
A particular video showed an entire house being swept away by streams of river water. Danielle Silva, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said, “I’ve seen the video. We don’t know if anyone was in the house.”
Flash Flood New Mexico: Massive Flash flood emergency with a 20 foot flood wave, debris flow and homes floating down the Rio Ruidoso River!
— John Cremeans (@JohnCremeansX) July 8, 2025
Officials report the Rio Ruidoso River rose 20 feet in 30 minutes.
This is a developing story. pic.twitter.com/3rP5SOdROM
There have, however, been no reports of deaths or injuries in the New Mexico flash floods till Tuesday (local time). But emergency teams pre-positioned by local law enforcement and the National Guard conducted at least 85 swift-water rescues in and around Ruidoso, many of whom were stranded in their cars and homes by flooding.
Officials said that the water in the Rio Ruidoso River swelled up to a provisional record of 20.24 feet on Tuesday afternoon. As floodwaters started to recede, authorities began their search and rescue operations to look for survivors.
The severity of the debris flow was heightened by a flame-scarred landscape stripped of vegetation in a wildfire that burned through the area last June, followed soon after by a round of flooding that badly eroded the soil.
Ruidoso is a popular summer retreat and ski resort nestled in the Sierra Blanca mountain range of south-central New Mexico, about 115 miles (185 km) south of Albuquerque, the state’s largest city.
With inputs from agencies
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