The loss of three lives to flash flooding in the mountain village of Ruidoso is “unfathomable and unfair,” New Mexico’s governor said Thursday, as

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

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.

The summer rainy season in New Mexico usually brings daily alerts about the potential for flooding around the arid state.

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.

It marks the second straight year that the All American races have been moved from their home at Ruidoso Downs in Ruidoso, N.M. The racetrack and property suffered significant damage from the flooding event that occurred on Tuesday, July 8, which has made the current racing season impossible to continue.

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

The disasters in Texas and New Mexico are something we can't take for granted here in Minnesota. In 2007, deadly flash floods forced people to evacuate homes and campgrounds in southeastern Minnesota.