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

There will be no more horse races at Ruidoso Downs for 2025, after flood waters ravaged the race track for the second year in a row.

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.

On Tuesday, torrential rain hit Ruidoso, a small mountain town and summer destination in southern New Mexico, and caused the Rio Ruidoso to overflow. The flash floods that ensued have killed three people, including two children. Emergency services carried out dozens of swift water rescues.

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

Raging floodwaters in Ruidoso in southern New Mexico killed at least three people, including two children overnight according to authorities. Officials confirmed a Fort Bliss soldier and their spouse are in the hospital with serious injuries and that their two children are among the dead.