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.

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.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Three people were killed when monsoon rains triggered flash flooding in a New Mexico village, sending walls of water, mud and debris rushing down mountainsides that have been repeatedly scarred over recent years by wildfires and post-fire flooding.

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.

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.

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

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,

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.

Footage from a camera operated by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a timelapse of just how fast New Mexico's Rio Ruidoso rose, causing flash flooding.

The flash flooding that hit the US state on Tuesday killed three people, including a 4-year-old girl and 7-year-old boy.