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

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.

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, including two children, were killed in a mountain village in southern New Mexico, after monsoon rains triggered flash flooding on Tuesday, officials said.

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.

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

More than two dozen Mexican rescue volunteers and firefighters have been looking for victims and clearing debris along the Guadalupe River. Others were left waiting for visas and humanitarian permits to cross the border.