Officials in New Mexico announced on July 9 that at least 200 homes were damaged during a deadly flash flood in Ruidoso a day earlier, and local emergency managers warned that the number could more than double as surveys continue.
“Things have changed,” Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford told reporters in an update on July 10. “There was a lot more damage than what we had assumed and what we thought in the beginning. … We’ve had to take a step back to move forward.”
The floods were triggered by monsoon rains, sending water rushing out of the Rio Ruidoso river and across the surrounding mountainside, and two burn scar areas from fires last year. While a flood watch was put into effect nearly 12 hours ahead of the event, the National Weather Service reported that the Rio Ruidoso reached the major flood stage of 15 feet within less than an hour of its initial flash flood warning….