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 heavy rain killed at least three people and prompted dozens of rescues in the Ruidoso area of southern New Mexico, officials said — the same area devastated by wildfires last year.

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.

RUIDOSO, N.M. (AP) — The mountain village of Ruidoso returned to the grim rituals of rebuilding after flash flooding and a deadly natural disaster, just one year after wildfire and intense flooding reshaped the popular vacation getaway and its surroundings.

At least three people have died as a result of severe flash flooding that swept through a south-central New Mexico resort town on Tuesday afternoon. The devastating floods left people trapped in homes and prompted dozens of water rescues in Ruidoso, officials said.

Ruidoso's surge follows deadly flooding in Texas, where authorities reported more than 160 people missing in the aftermath of catastrophic storms.

A New Mexico mountain village is preparing for another round of monsoon rains as it tries to dig out from historic flooding that killed a man and two children.

Torrential rains triggered flash floods in New Mexico that killed at least three people on Tuesday, including two young children, and trapped dozens in homes and vehicles in the resort village of Ruidoso,

The resort village of Ruidoso was under a flash flood emergency as slow-moving storms left people trapped in homes and prompted water rescues.

A sudden flash flood ripped through a mountain community in New Mexico Tuesday, washing away at least one entire home. Rescuers are working to make sure everyone is accounted for. NBC News' Camila Bernal reports.

Up to 18 inches of rain fell between Aug. 18 and Aug. 20, 2007, triggering flash floods that are still considered some of Minnesota's worst. It killed seven people and caused $179 million in damages, mostly in Winona, Fillmore and Houston counties.