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.

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

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

A flash flood overtook the Ruidoso area in New Mexico on Tuesday, July 8, prompting an emergency declaration and multiple rescues.

Residents of Ruidoso, New Mexico, were glued to the windows of a riverside brewery where they were sheltering from a flash flood that swept through the town, carrying rocks, debris and even an entire house.

The neighbouring state of Texas also experienced a major flood just a few days earlier, but with a very different outcome. The ferocity of the inundation in Texas caught forecasters and state officials by surprise, killing at least 119 people.

Recent flash flooding in Texas​, New Mexico​ and North Carolina​ is highlighting the extreme danger of these natural disasters and the need to be prepared.